DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
JULY 23, 2023
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN, RELIGIOUS)
FIRST READING
WISDOM 12:13, 16-19 OR (GALATIANS 2:19-20)
13 For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly; 16 For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all. 17 For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it. 18 Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose. 19 Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.
The Word of the Lord
_
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 85(86):5-6, 9-10, 15-16 OR (PSALMS 34:2-11)
Response: For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving.
For thou, O LORD, art good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on thee.
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
hearken to my cry of supplication.
R. For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving.
All the nations thou hast made shall come
and bow down before thee, O LORD,
and shall glorify thy name.
For thou art great and doest wondrous things,
thou alone art God.
R. For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving.
But thou, O LORD, art a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and take pity on me;
give thy strength to thy servant,
and save the son of thy handmaid.
R. For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving.
_
SECOND READING
ROMANS 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. 27 And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
The Word of the Lord
_
GOSPEL
"The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father"
MATTHEW 13:24-43 OR (MATTHEW 13:24-30 / JOHN 15:1-8)
24 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' 28 He said to them, An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he said, `No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" 31 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." 33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." 34 All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." 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
_
REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Faith as a grain of mustard, by Jerome (347-420 AD)
"The man who sows in his field is interpreted by many as the Savior. He sows in the souls of believers. By others he is interpreted as one who sows in his field that is to say, in himself and in his heart. Who is it that sows if not our mind and heart? They take up the grain of preaching and nurture the plant with the moisture of faith, making it sprout and shoot up in the field of the heart. The preaching of faith in the gospel appears to be least among all tasks. Indeed, anyone who preaches the God-man of truth, Christ who died, and the stumbling block of the cross may not think immediately of mere faith as the primary doctrine. Put this particular doctrine side by side with the teachings of the philosophers, their books, their splendid eloquence and fine discourses, and you will see just how small it is compared with the other seeds of the gospel plant. When those teachings grow, they have nothing to show that is pungent or vigorous or vital. Everything turns out weak and withering in a plant and in herbs that quickly dry up and fall to the ground. But when this tiny gospel teaching that seemed insignificant at the beginning has been planted either in the soul of the believer or throughout the world, it does not turn out to be just a plant. It grows into a tree, so that the birds of the air, which we interpret as the souls of believers or deeds dedicated to the service of God, come and dwell on its branches."
(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 2.13.31)
_
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.