Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection July 18, 2024
Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
18th July 2024 (Thursday)
Psalter: Week 3
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19
The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous. In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. O Lord, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them. Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O Lord; we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen. Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.
Psalm 102:13-14ab and 15, 16-18, 19-21 (R. 20b)
R/. The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 11:28-30
At that time: Jesus declared, “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Thursday – Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: The world is so much under pressure. It is hard-pressed. It needs some remedy that relieves it from this pressing burden. God alone is that solace point!
1. “Come unto me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. This is the warm invitation of Jesus to everyone, especially who feel life burdensome and laborious. The life of many is robbed of rest. This is not so much physical rest and relaxation. It is mental and spiritual.
2. Rest is a state of mind where all our worries and tensions, especially those not necessary and not worthwhile recede. Rest is a mental serenity and calm. It may not be a complete cessation of all worries and burdens. Rather it is a state of mental equilibrium, an inner equanimity.
3. It is this that many today lack. They have many relaxations but are not calm. They have many deviations, diversions, and distractions but not really a re-charging and refilling. Truly, in line with the words in the first reading, many are “like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth”.
4. There is no wonder then that the welcoming words of Jesus to go to him in our times of burden are very soothing and uplifting. But how do we obtain this rest? It is by taking his yoke upon us and learning gentleness and humility from him. Yoke can simply mean anything, any burden, any task, any risk for the sake of the Lord.
5. This yoke of the Lord is smoothened and sweetened by gentleness and humility. But the world considers these sweeteners as signs of weakness and timidity, lack of self-dignity, and self-affirmation. This thinking is wrong. They are actually signs of strength and firmness. Only a strong and steady person can be gentle and humble. They ease one’s inner burdens and make him light-hearted.
Practice: To a world that is so rude, harsh, and hard, gentleness will be like a yoke hard to bear. And to a world that rides on pride and arrogance, humility is really a burden to carry. But it is only by carrying this noble yoke and burden, that we can experience true relief and comfort
