DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
AUGUST 2, 2023
WEDNESDAY OF THE SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
(SOLEMNITY OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS OF PORTIUNCULA)
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT EUSEBIUS OF VERCELLI, BISHOP / SAINT PETER JULIAN EYMARD, PRIEST)
FIRST READING
EXODUS 34:29-35 OR (1 JOHN 5:1-5 / ACTS 4:32-35 / SIRACH 24:1-4, 16, 22-24)
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 And afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 98(99):5-7, 9 OR (PSALMS 89:2-5, 21-22, 25, 27 / PSALMS 34:2-11 / PSALMS 34:5, 7, 9-10, 18-19)
Response: Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he!
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his testimonies,
and the statutes that he gave them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the LORD our God is holy!
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
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SECOND READING (OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS OF PORTIUNCULA - SOLEMNITY)
GALATIANS 4:3-7
GOSPEL
Joy in finding hidden treasure and pearl of great price
MATTHEW 13:44-46 OR (MATTHEW 5:1-12 / JOHN 15:1-8 / LUKE 1:26-33)
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Finding the pearl of great price, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"Now among the words of all kinds that profess to announce truth, and among those who report them, he seeks pearls. Think of the prophets as, so to speak, the pearls that receive the dew of heaven and become pregnant with the word of truth from heaven. They are goodly pearls that, according to the phrase here set forth, the merchant seeks. And the chief of the pearls, on the finding of which the rest are found with it, is the very costly pearl, the Christ of God, the Word that is superior to the precious letters and thoughts in the law and the prophets. When one finds this pearl all the rest are easily released. Suppose, then, that one is not a disciple of Christ. He possesses no pearls at all, much less the very costly pearl, as distinguished from those that are cloudy or darkened."
(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 18.8)
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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.