DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

JULY 7, 2024

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

FIRST READING

EZEKIEL 2:2-5

2 And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say to them, `Thus says the Lord GOD.' 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 122(123):1-4

Response: Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

To thee I lift up my eyes,
O thou who art enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master.

R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

As the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he have mercy upon us.

R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Too long our soul has been sated
with the scorn of those who are at ease,
the contempt of the proud.

R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
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SECOND READING

2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10

7 And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. 8 Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; 9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Word of the Lord
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GOSPEL

Jesus marveled because of their unbelief

MARK 6:1-6

1 He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

Distinguishing God's power and our faith, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

"And perhaps, as in the case of metallic substances there exists in some a natural attraction toward some other thing, as in the magnet for iron, and in naphtha for fire, so there is an attraction in such faith toward the divine power according to what Jesus said: 'If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, 'Move to another place,' and it shall be moved' (Matthew 17:20). Matthew and Mark wished to present the all-surpassing value of that divine power as a power that works even in those who do not believe. But they did not deny that grace works even more powerfully among those who have faith. So it seems to me that they accurately said not that the Lord did not do any mighty works because of their unbelief, but that he did not do many there (Mark 6:5). Mark does not flatly say that he could do no mighty work there at all, and stop at that point, but added, 'except that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them' (Mark 6:5). Thus the power in him overcame even their unbelief."

(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 10.19)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.