Sunday
July 28th

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: 2 Kgs 4:42-44:
A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.” “For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'” And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the Lord had said.

2nd Reading: Eph 4:1-6:
Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Gospel: Jn 6:1-15:
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”

Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Reflection:
If we respond to people’s needs and desires, they will naturally have a feeling of affinity and closeness to us. They might admire us, think of us as God’s answer to their prayers, or their way out from their undesirable situation now. We become the avatar of the heroes they longed to come to save them. This admiration and praise is healthy or unhealthy depending on who receives it. Jesus had His share of such hero worship. This gospel episode is but a snapshot of the countless other times that people were ready to use force in order to place Jesus as their head and leader. But He would not nor would He ever. He remained true to His fundamental mission in life.

No matter how alluring the alternatives were, He kept true to His purpose. Such extraordinary strength of will is much more admirable than the countless miracles He performed in His life time. What is truly awesome is how He conquered Himself. How do I respond to praise and admiration? Do I have the graciousness to thank those who praise and admire me, and at the same time the humility to understand that I am nothing but an instrument of God’s wonderful love to His people? And because of this, all praise and admiration must point back to God, the source of all the good I am capable of. Father, make me ever ready to do good to others, and if this results in something wonderful, may I have the grace to handle it in ways that will bring You greater glory the way Jesus always did. I ask this in the mighty name of Your Son, Amen.

Monday
July 29th

St. Martha

1st Reading: Jer 13:1-11:
The Lord said to me: Go buy yourself a linen loincloth; wear it on your loins, but do not put it in water. I bought the loincloth, as the Lord commanded, and put it on. A second time the word of the Lord came to me thus: Take the loincloth which you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Parath; there hide it in a cleft of the rock. Obedient to the Lord’s command, I went to the Parath and buried the loincloth. After a long interval, the Lord said to me: Go now to the Parath and fetch the loincloth which I told you to hide there.

Again I went to the Parath, sought out and took the loincloth from the place where I had hid it. But it was rotted, good for nothing! Then the message came to me from the Lord: Thus says the Lord: So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot, the great pride of Jerusalem. This wicked people who refuse to obey my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts, and follow strange gods to serve and adore them, shall be like this loincloth which is good for nothing. For, as close as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so had I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord; to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty. But they did not listen.

Gospel: Jn 11:19-27:
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died]. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Reflection:
Today’s Gospel text is one which we can easily relate with. It resonates well with our experiences especially when we are in great pain or in deep sorrow. When something bad happens or when a tragedy befalls us, like Marta we are often led to say, “Lord, if you had been here… this would not have happened.“ When she said that, Marta was not being resentful and was putting the blame on the Lord for Lazarus’ death. Nor was she trying to make Jesus feel guilty for his apparent insensitivity or lack of concern. It actually expresses her faith and trust in Jesus and his power over death.

That is why later on she was able to proclaim, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God…“ Do we have a faith as strong as Martha’s so that even amidst tragedy or in suffering we can still hold on to God, putting our trust in Him? Martha’s friendship with Jesus has brought about growth in her faith. Hospitably welcoming him and his disciples into her home and providing some of their needs as they went about ministering to people helped her come to know the Lord better. Welcoming others into our homes and into our lives will likewise enable us to see Jesus better and grow in our faith and relationship with Him.

Tuesday
July 30th

St. Peter Chrysologus

1st Reading: Jer 14:17-22:
Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest, Over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound. If I walk out into the field, look! those slain by the sword; If I enter the city, look! those consumed by hunger. Even the prophet and the priest forage in a land they know not. Have you cast Judah off completely? Is Zion loathsome to you? Why have you struck us a blow that cannot be healed? We wait for peace, to no avail; for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.

We recognize, O Lord, our wickedness, the guilt of our fathers; that we have sinned against you. For your name’s sake spurn us not, disgrace not the throne of your glory; remember your covenant with us, and break it not. Among the nations’ idols is there any that gives rain? Or can the mere heavens send showers? Is it not you alone, O Lord, our God, to whom we look? You alone have done all these things.

Gospel: Mt 13:36-43:
Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Reflection:
In today’s gospel reading Jesus warns us that “the field is the world” and that those fighting in it are divided into two camps, “the sons of the Kingdom” and “the sons of the Evil One.” Actually we could complete the thought of Jesus by transposing it from the level of general history to that of the individual conscience, and by saying, “the field is the human heart.” For, in reality, no human heart is totally good or totally evil. It too is sown with wheat and weeds in varying proportions, and it too is the theater of a gigantic struggle between God and Satan.

These two protagonists endeavor in every way to secure our adherence to their respective Kingdoms. And each one of our moral decisions favors at one time one of these two Kingdoms, at another time the other one. In this prodigious combat, things are not settled once and for all as long as we still have a breath of life left in us. At the last moment, the mere act of looking up to God with repentance can transform in the twinkling of an eye the barren field of our heart into a sea of beautiful stalks.

Wednesday
July 31st

St. Ignatius of Loyola

1st Reading: Jer 15:10, 16-21:
Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth! a man of strife and contention to all the land! I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me. When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart, Because I bore your name, O Lord, God of hosts. I did not sit celebrating in the circle of merrymakers; Under the weight of your hand I sat alone because you filled me with indignation. Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook, whose waters do not abide!

Thus the Lord answered me: If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece. Then it shall be they who turn to you, and you shall not turn to them; And I will make you toward this people a solid wall of brass. Though they fight against you, they shall not prevail, For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the Lord. I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.

Gospel: Mt 13:44-46:
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

Reflection:
The following scenario is a typical success story of our times. Our hero—let us call him Joe—is a young man with a curious mind. He likes to tinker around in the family garage and explore new combinations of electronic wirings and signals. He finds that images can be converted into electrical signals, transmitted electronically, and then reconverted into images. In other words, Joe is aware that he has discovered television. What does he do then? He sells everything he has, borrows all the money he can and builds a television set. Is he crazy? No, he is merely investing all he has into something which will eventually make him fabulously rich.

Christians throughout the ages have behaved like Joe. At some point in their lives they have discovered God. Many of them knew about God, but had never known him directly through a personal spiritual experience. But now that they know God, they want to know him infinitely more. And they gladly sacrifice all their belongings to this end. Are they crazy? No, Jesus tells us in today’s gospel reading. They are only shrewd investors. They know that any sacrifice made for God always pays off handsomely.

Thursday
August 1st

St. Alphonsus Liguori

1st Reading: Jer 18:1-6:
This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Rise up, be off to the potter’s house; there I will give you my message. I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased. Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? says the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

Gospel: Mt 13:47-53:
Jesus said to the disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” “Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

Reflection:
God is constantly molding and refashioning us which ought to be good news for us, for often we lose patience with our imperfections. As God the potter never gives up on us, neither should we give up on ourselves or others. But many of us, out of exasperation, give up on others, condemning them as irreformable and irredeemable. Our attitude condoning the extra-judicial killing of alleged drug pushers and approval of the reimposition of the death penalty are contrary to the attitude of our God of second chances who never loses hope in us.

Friday
August 2nd

St. Eusebius of Vercelli
St. Peter Julian Eymard

1st Reading: Jer 26:1-9:
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this message came from the Lord: Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the house of the Lord and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord; whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing. Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way, so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them for their evil deeds.

Say to them: Thus says the Lord: If you disobey me, not living according to the law I placed before you and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them, I will treat this house like Shiloh, and make this the city to which all the nations of the earth shall refer when cursing another. Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord bade him speak to all the people, the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying, “You must be put to death! Why do you prophesy in the name of the Lord: ‘This house shall be like Shiloh,’ and ‘This city shall be desolate and deserted’?” And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

Gospel: Mt 13:54-58:
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.

Reflection:
In various languages we come across proverbs which say that a great man’s greatness is not always recognized by the people who live with the great man. In this connection the French say, “Nul n’est un grand home pour son valet de chambre” (No one is a great man in the eyes of his butler) and the English say, “Familiarity breeds contempt,” that is, people do not respect someone they know well enough to be aware of his or her faults. In today’s gospel reading we see how the relatives of Jesus react when Jesus begins his public ministry.

Because of their closeness to Jesus, they cannot see him clearly. He is simply too familiar to them. They cannot bring themselves to believe that their local carpenter is a great man. And so they ask nothing of him—which in turn makes him powerless, for he never imposes himself on people. Jesus experienced misunderstanding and rejection. When we suffer similar experiences, let us turn to him for comfort, knowing that he will understand us perfectly and, therefore, be able to sympathize with us and give us the strength needed to bear our trial serenely.

Saturday
August 3rd

1st Reading: Jer 26:11-16, 24:
The priests and prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “This man deserves death; he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” Jeremiah gave this answer to the princes and all the people: “It was the Lord who sent me to prophesy against this house and city all that you have heard. Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds; listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so that the Lord will repent of the evil with which he threatens you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me what you think good and right.

But mark well: if you put me to death, it is innocent blood you bring on yourselves, on this city and its citizens. For in truth it was the Lord who sent me to you, to speak all these things for you to hear.” Thereupon the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve death; it is in the name of the Lord, our God, that he speaks to us.” So Ahikam, son of Shaphan, protected Jeremiah, so that he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

Gospel: Mt 14:1-12:
Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet.

But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

Reflection:
We often hear about how, say, an act of kindness prompted a generous response which in turn produced another good unexpected result—and this can go on almost forever. As the old scholastic (i.e. medieval-philosophical) saying goes: “bonum est diffusivum sui,” that is, “goodness tends to spread.” And God is the supreme exemplar of this: being absolute goodness, he creates finite beings and, each time, declares them good (Gen 1). Unfortunately, this law also applies to evil, for evil acts have a tendency to generate other evil acts, and this can continue indefinitely, as we can see in the case of Herod, as related in today’s gospel reading.

It all starts with mere lust, which brings him to steal his sister-in-law from his brother Philip and to take her as his wife. Then this leads to a sin of pride: Herod does not want to lose face in the presence of his guests by reneging on his foolish promise to Herodias’ daughter. And thus pride leads him to murder an innocent man, indeed a great man of God. Evil also tends to propagate itself in ever widening circles: and thus lust can easily lead to murder. Innocent sexcapades? There is no such thing as innocent sin.