The Word today, W14B

July 08 - July 13, 2024

Monday 08 July

St Kilian, bishop and martyr

Hosea 2:16, 17-18, 21-22 Until Thursday, we read from the prophet Hosea, known for his use of marriage as a symbol of God’s love for his people. This emerges rather touchingly in today’s reading.

Matthew 9:18-26 This is Matthew’s brisk telling of a story familiar from Mark. The “sandwich” technique here creates suspense: he can heal the sick, but can he raise the dead?

Tuesday 09 July

St Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, martyrs

Hos 8:4-7, 11-13 The worship of idols was a constant threat in the ancient world. Idols were more tangible and visible. In case we dismiss the risk too readily, it may help to remember the words of our Lord: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

Matthew 9:32-37 A sinister note is registered in the first paragraph of this reading. After that, Jesus the healer brings people God’s compassion.

Wednesday 10 July

Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 This plaintive text is very powerful. It begins with the traditional image of the vine and goes on to ask penetrating questions. The final paragraph surely speaks today: it is time to go seeking the Lord until he comes to rain salvation on you.

Matthew 10:1-7 The Twelve were a symbol of Jesus’ mission to Israel, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. This focus of Jesus ministry becomes really clear in the last paragraph.

Thursday 11 July

St Benedict, abbot, co-patron of Europe

Proverbs 2:1-9 For the feast, we interrupt the readings from Hosea and read from Proverbs. Where can we find wisdom, truth, virtue, justice, understanding and fear of the Lord? According to Proverbs—and later according to St Benedict and many other holy men and women—these things are to be found by taking the Word of the Lord to heart.

Matthew 19:27-29 The Gospel—chosen for the feast—is really about those who have followed Jesus in leaving behind all “sensible”, “normal” forms of security and happiness for the sake of the Good News.

Friday 12 July

Hosea 14:2-10 This is a great invitation to conversion of heart. The first part is the call to come back to the Lord. The second part spell out the super-generous response of God to our response to him.

Matthew 10:16-23 Jesus was not naive. Sending out the Twelve was sending them into danger. Probably we over hear some of the experiences of the later church in the details, as there is no evidence that these things took place during the ministry of Jesus.

Saturday 13 July

St Henry of Bavaria

Isaiah 6:1-8 Beginning today, we have a week of readings from Isaiah. To start, the lectionary offers us the foundational vision of the prophet, a fabulous vision of the holiness of God, both awesome and alluring. You may recognise words we say at every Mass.

Matthew 10:24-33 Under the general heading of the mission discourse, disparate sayings are offered, reflecting a variety of concerns. Sometimes, the word is threatening; other times, it is consoling. A sense of anxious urgency hangs over the whole teaching.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024c, July 7). Fourteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070724.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/

The Word today, W13B

July 01 - July 06, 2024

Monday 01 July

St Oliver Plunkett, bishop and martyr

Amos 2:6-10, 13-16 Economic prosperity was built on the back of the poor. The prophet does not hesitate to name it as it is. God is a liberator God who wants justice and freedom for his people.

Matthew 8:18-22 The conditions of discipleship are daunting and, yet, the stories are unfinished and open-ended…

Tuesday 02 July

Amos 3:1-8, 4:11-12 Severely, Amos reminds us that everything has its cause and purpose.

Matthew 8:23-27 The storm and the boat symbolize the experience of the church. The prayer of the disciples could easily be ours today.

Wednesday 03 July

St Thomas, apostle

Ephesians 2:19-22 This short reading is rich in resonance: it presents the Christian life as a home coming (something most of us have experienced), a being built into a house of God.

John 20:24-29 It is interesting that this story survives in p o p u l a r m e m o r y a s “ d o u b t i n g Thomas.” And yet, the central point is his tremendous faith and confession: my Lord and my God, the highest confession of Jesus’ identity in the entire Gospel of John.

Thursday 04 July

St Elizabeth of Portugal

Amos 7:10-17 Amos disturbed the powers that be and in response they tried to silence the prophet. The higher clergy collaborate with the king to get at him, but Amos never falters. The silencing of prophets might perhaps have a special resonance for us at this time.

Matthew 9:1-8 The question is a good one: it is apparently much easier to say your sins are forgiven because the effects are unseen!

Friday 05 July

St Antony Mary Zaccaria, priest

Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 Here is a classic prophetic cry. Amos reminds the people that economic prosperity is a passing illusion and won’t last. Rank injustice, a fruit of that false flourishing, will come to the attention of God. Above all, God’s wants justice for all the people.

Matthew 9:9-13 This story is well remembered and with good reason. After the negative reaction of the Pharisees (who seemingly don’t dare to confront Jesus himself), the Lord speaks three sentences, each worth a meditation in itself.

Saturday 06 July

St Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr St Monnine, hermit

Amos 9:11-15 Prophets can seem predominantly negative and certainly Amos had negative things to say. But even these are expressions of God’s faithfulness. In today passage, it is that very faithfulness of God which is the focus: in spite of everything, God will restore his people.

Matthew 9:14-17 The real focus of this little dispute is the sheer novelty of the proclamation of Jesus, a novelty marked by a break in religious practice. Apart from the forty days in the desert, it seems Jesus did not fast and this scandalised some. But old practices were not adequate to celebrate the radically new teaching of Jesus.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bb, June 30). Thirteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/063024.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/

The Word today, W12B

June 24 - June 29, 2024

Monday 24 June

The Birthday of John the Baptist

Isaiah 49:1-6 The mention of “forming in the womb”, a prophetic idiom, makes this a suitable reading for the feast, anticipating the Gospel. Ultimately, the reading points beyond John the Baptist to Jesus as the light of the nations.

Acts 13:22-26 It is not possible to tell the story of salvation, or indeed that of Jesus, without mentioning John the Baptist, as we see in this reading. Luke 1:57-66, 80 Our Gospel is devoted mainly to the naming of John the Baptist and the reaction to his birth. We too are invited to “treasure these things in our heart.”

Tuesday 25 June

2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36 The success of the war against Israel encouraged the Assyrians to attack the southern state of Judah. Hezekiah the king prayed and his prayer was heard. No doubt there was more to it, but the Judeans were truly grateful and felt themselves blessed.

Matthew 7:6, 12-14 There are three sentences here. The second two are easy enough to grasp. The first is odd. Dogs was terms used to to refer to Gentiles and so the sentences may reflect Jesus’ attitude in this God: go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Wednesday 26 June

2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3 This story of a old book coming to light —apparently a chance discovery— played a key role in the development of the Bible. The (re-)discovery of the covenant (probably the substance of the book of Deuteronomy) had a huge effect on them all and they committed themselves once again to the covenant with the Lord.

Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus, who grew up in a very small village in the countryside was a good observer of nature and used it in his teaching. There are always false prophets, seers and visionaries, driven by who knows what? Love alone counts.

Thursday 27 June

St Cyril of Alexandria, bishop and doctor

2 Kings 24:8-17 In our history lesson today, we hear of the last days of the kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem was destroyed and the people deported. It would be hard to exaggerate the importance of this moment in the biblical story. It was a true watershed— something like the famine in Irish history. Things would never be the same.

Matthew 7:21-19 Dried riverbeds (wadis) are subject of flash floods. To build there is very obviously foolish.

Friday 28 June

St Irenaeus, bishop and martyr

2 Kings 25:1-12 Our reading today is meant to shock an it does. First of all, there is the brutality of the execution of king’s sons before his very eyes and then the blinding of the king. That horror leads to another: the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, erected by Solomon. It is the start of the Babylonian Exile, a watershed event for the ancient Israelites, forever held in their hearts and minds.

Matthew 8:1-4 There are three arresting moments in today’s short Gospel. The man’s plea is full of faith: If you want to… Then, Jesus touches him, breaking one of the purity laws about touching the ritually unclean. Finally, the Jesus of Matthew observes the Law, permitting the man’s re-entry into normal society.

Saturday 29 June

Sts Peter and Paul, apostles

Acts 12:1-11 This symbolic tale reminds us that whatever the appearances, God protects his followers.

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 Not really from Paul, this is a good reflection back on life as an apostle. He is shown as an old man, full of faith.

Matthew 16:13-16 Peter did attain a special role in the early Church, initially at Antioch in Syria. This present story is unique to Matthew and often thought to be a post-Easter commission account. Given the miraculous birth of John the Baptist, this reading is perfect for the feast.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024, June 23). Twelfth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062324.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/