Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection August 01, 2024
Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time
01st August 2024 (Thursday)
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Jeremiah 18:1-6
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
Psalm 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab (R. 5a)
R/. Blessed is he who is helped by Jacob’s God.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Open our hearts, O Lord, that we may pay attention to the words of your Son.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 13:47-53
At that time: Jesus said to the crowds, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Thursday – Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: Life is a constant process of various choices. But what is the criterion for this choice-making? Mere knowledge or wisdom, unbridled freedom or a humble surrender – this makes the difference
1. In life very many times, wrong choices and decisions are made. Despite all the intelligence and knowledge, despite all technology and progress, still many are confused or mistaken in their choices. Then is there any norm or norms that can help us in this process of discernment and decision?
2. Once again it is wisdom that enables us to discern between two alternatives and choose the better option. It is like sifting between the good and bad fish after a catch and sorting them out separately, the good ones to retain in the containers, and the bad ones to be thrown away. It is also like differentiating by a master of a house between the old and new things out of his treasure.
3. The same wisdom makes us distinguish between docility and obstinacy, between an arrogant self-autonomy and humble surrender. Subsequently, wisdom also makes us docile and surrendered to God. God conveys this message powerfully through a very practical and impressive metaphor of clay and potter.
4. First of all, some may tend to look negatively at the imagery of clay and potter. Some are obsessed with a wrong concept of freedom. They may argue that the clay is losing its self-dignity, the right to self-affirmation, and self-making. The potter is taking away its freedom for self-decision and imposes his own will on the clay.
5. This is a wrong way of thinking. True freedom is not a license for doing anything, especially the wrong. True freedom is always positive and constructive. It never intends or does harm either to the self or others. In the name of being free, one cannot become self-ruinous or destructive toward others.
6. The clay in the hands of a potter is totally open to the touch and the work of the potter because it knows that the potter is best at it and he wishes and does the best with it. There is no subjugation or manipulation of the clay on the part of the potter. It is all for the proper shape and use of the clay as a pot.
7. It is this wisdom that enabled St Alphonse to make his unequivocal and unswerving choice for Christ and remained faithful till the end, through his personal holiness and dedication as well as through his congregation of the Redemptorists that he founded.
Practice: God can work more and more easily with us if only we restrain our adamant tendencies to resist His actions. The more we are docile and submissive, the better will be the shape and use of our life
