DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

JULY 19, 2024

FRIDAY OF THE FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

FIRST READING

ISAIAH 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8

1 In those days Hezeki'ah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not recover." 2 Then Hezeki'ah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in thy sight." And Hezeki'ah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: 5 "Go and say to Hezeki'ah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city. 21 Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a cake of figs, and apply it to the boil, that he may recover." 22 Hezeki'ah also had said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?" 7 "This is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised: 8 Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps." So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

ISAIAH 38:10-12, 16

Response: Thou saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

I said, In the noontide of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.

R. Thou saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

I said, I shall not see the LORD
in the land of the living;
I shall look upon man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.

R. Thou saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd's tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night thou dost bring me to an end.

R. Thou saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

O LORD, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh, restore me to health and make me live!

R. Thou saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
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GOSPEL

I desire mercy and not sacrifice

MATTHEW 12:1-8

1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." 3 He said to them, "Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is lord of the Sabbath."

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

The Seventh Day, from the early Greek fathers, attributed to Eusebius of Alexandria (5th century AD)

"Now every week has seven days. Six of these God has given to us for work, and one for prayer, rest, and making reparation for our sins, so that on the Lord's Day we may atone to God for any sins we have committed on the other six days. Therefore, arrive early at the church of God; draw near to the Lord and confess your sins to him, repenting in prayer and with a contrite heart. Attend the holy and divine liturgy; finish your prayer and do not leave before the dismissal. Contemplate your master as he is broken and distributed, yet not consumed. If you have a clear conscience, go forward and partake of the body and blood of the Lord."

(excerpt from SERMON 6, 1-2)
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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.