Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection July 17, 2024
Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
17th July 2024 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 3
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16
Thus says the Lord: Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I commend him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few; For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones. My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.” Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood! Therefore the Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.
Psalm 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15 (R. 14a)
R/. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have revealed to little children the mysteries of the kingdom.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 11:25-27
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Wednesday – Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: Human intelligence and strength can assist a person up to some point. But ultimately nothing of the human or earthly can save a person
1. There is an increasing sense of self-sufficiency and self-complacency in modern society. Many get puffed up on account of progress and technology in general, and competence and success in particular. However, at the same time, there is also a gripping sense of dissatisfaction and emptiness.
2. It is in this context, we must admit our own limitedness before the unsurpassable power of God. We cannot boast of any greatness of ours before the immeasurable might of God. We cannot raise arms against God with a false sense of pride. That is why we hear in the first reading from Isaiah: “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!”
3. We must be humble enough to see this indomitable hold of God. It is God who makes and unmakes everything. “There was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped”. By His strength and wisdom, He does everything. “He removes the boundaries of the peoples, and plunders their treasures. Like a bull He brings down those who sit on thrones”. “The Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors”.
4. In the gospel too, Jesus makes clear this disconcerting and contrasting way of God: He has hidden the heavenly mysteries from the wise and understanding in the sight of the world. But He revealed them to little children. This means the simple, humble, insignificant, and negligible lot in the sight of the world.
Practice: It is really foolish that a goat goes to fight against a mountain and tries to overpower it by hitting against it. In the same way, it will be absurd that the weak limited man rises against God and tries to overpower Him
