Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection August 05, 2024
Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time
05th August 2024 (Monday)
Psalter: Week 2
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Jeremiah 28:1-17
In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.” Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.” Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way. Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’” In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.
Psalm 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102 (R. 68b)
R/. Teach me your statutes, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 14:13-21
At that time: When Jesus heard [of the death of John the Baptist], he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, ”We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Monday – Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: The greatness of faith is not to go on thinking like mere humans, in limited ways, but to put on the mindset of God and feel, think and act like God
1. As men and women of faith, we are called to see, feel, think, react, respond and act differently from others. Our faith must make us put on the perspective of God and act with his Heart. It is not that we are not realistic. It is not that we fly in the air with idealistic and unrealistic ideas. It only means that our realism should be charged by our faith and transported into another higher realm.
2. The disciples in the gospel were certainly realistic like good common sense- persons. They knew that the people who came to Jesus in the desolate place were hungry. They knew the crowd was as large as more than five thousand. They also knew they had only five loaves and two fish. They knew that it will be impossible to feed them.
3. So they tell the Lord to send away the people so that they would procure food themselves. Here we need not make too much of their intentions. Whether they wanted to get rid of the people? Whether they did not want to face the embarrassing and difficult situation? Whether they were positively concerned for the people? Whether they were practically wise and see an immediate solution?
4. These are different possible intentions. But for us what is more important is that they were aware of the reality, assess it, and come up with a solution. This is nothing wrong. But it is here that Jesus wants them and us to think and act from a divine perspective and with God’s own heart.
5. Jesus had compassion for the people and he healed the sick. The disciples had already seen both the goodness as well as the power of the Lord. So, why could they not request Jesus to do something by himself? They could have easily said, Lord, you are already doing many good things and wonders; you know their hunger; please do something to feed them.
6. Even with their inadequate human resources, they could still tell Jesus, this is what we have – five loaves and two fish; we place them in your hands; now it is left to you. Not that they did not have faith in Jesus. But often, when we face problems, we get carried away by ordinary human thinking and acting.
7. This is what happens also in the case of the false prophet Hananiah in the first reading. He was led by the human seeking for approval and good pleasure of the people. So, he makes a false prophecy of deliverance from slavery. But in reality, God wanted to chastise the people for their disloyalty.
8. So what is needed is that we always sublimate our human ordinariness with the divine extra-ordinariness. We need to constantly blend together our human littleness with the divine mightiness. We need to put on God’s perspective and divinize our human actions in concrete situations.
Practice: Being realistic should not be a kind of evading personal responsibility and commitment. Solving the problems should not be avoiding challenges and risks. Ultimately our aim must be to distribute God’s grace to all and fill them with deeper contentment
