DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

JULY 30, 2024

TUESDAY OF THE SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT PETER CHRYSOLOGUS, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH)

FIRST READING

JEREMIAH 14:17-22 OR (EPHESIANS 3:8-12)

17 "You shall say to them this word: `Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people is smitten with a great wound, with a very grievous blow. 18 If I go out into the field, behold, those slain by the sword! And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land, and have no knowledge.'" 19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Does thy soul loathe Zion? Why hast thou smitten us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror. 20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against thee. 21 Do not spurn us, for thy name's sake; do not dishonor thy glorious throne; remember and do not break thy covenant with us. 22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art thou not he, O LORD our God? We set our hope on thee, for thou doest all these things.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 78(79):8-9, 11, 13 OR (PSALMS 119:9-14)

Response: For the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us.

Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers;
let thy compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are brought very low.

R. For the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us.

Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of thy name;
deliver us, and forgive our sins,
for thy name's sake!

R. For the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us.

Let the groans of the prisoners come before thee;
according to thy great power preserve those doomed to die!
Then we thy people, the flock of thy pasture,
will give thanks to thee for ever;
from generation to generation we will recount thy praise.

R. For the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us.
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GOSPEL

The righteous will shine like the sun in the Father's kingdom

MATTHEW 13:36-43 OR (LUKE 6:43-45)

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

Let us become friends of Jesus, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

"Now, having discoursed sufficiently to the multitudes in parables, he sends them away and goes to his own house, where his disciples come to him. His disciples did not go with those he sent away. As many as are more genuine hearers of Jesus first follow him, then having inquired about his house, are permitted to see it. Having come, they saw and stayed with him for all that day, and perhaps some of them even longer. In my opinion, such things are implied in the Gospel according to John... And if then, unlike the multitudes whom he sends away, we wish to hear Jesus and go to the house and receive something better than the multitudes did, let us become friends of Jesus, so that as his disciples come, we may also come to him when he goes into the house. And having come, let us inquire about the explanation of the parable, whether of the tares of the field, or of any other."

(excerpt from the COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 10.1–3)
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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.