DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
JULY 9, 2024
TUESDAY OF THE FOURTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT AUGUSTINE ZHAO RONG, PRIEST, AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS)
FIRST READING
HOSEA 8:4-7, 11-13 OR (1 JOHN 5:1-5)
4 They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. 5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? 6 They are from Israel! This calf a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. 7 “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up. 11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning. 12 I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something foreign. 13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me, and though they eat the meat, the Lord is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their wickedness and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 115:3-10 OR (PSALMS 126:1-6)
Response: The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
Or
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men's hands.
R. The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
Or
R. Alleluia.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
R. The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
Or
R. Alleluia.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them.
R. The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
Or
R. Alleluia.
O Israel, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, put your trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
R. The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
Or
R. Alleluia.
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GOSPEL
Never seen anything like this
MATTHEW 9:32-38 OR (JOHN 12:24-26)
32 As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to him.33 And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." 34 But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons." 35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Freedom and healing in Christ, by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)
"In the deaf and dumb and demoniac appear the need of the Gentiles for a complete healing. Beleaguered on all sides by misfortune, they were associated with all types of the body's infirmities. And in this regard a proper order of things is observed. For the devil is first cast out; then the other bodily benefits follow suit. With the folly of all superstitions put to flight by the knowledge of God, sight and hearing and words of healing are introduced. The declaration of the onlookers followed their admiration over what took place: 'Never has the like been seen in Israel.' Indeed, he whom the law could not help was made well by the power of the Word, and the deaf and dumb man spoke the praises of God. Deliverance has been given to the Gentiles. All the towns and all the villages are enlightened by the power and presence of Christ, and the people are freed from every impairment of the timeless malady.
(excerpt from ON MATTHEW 9.10)
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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.