July 17, 2026
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Mt 12:1-8

Today is Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew presents us with a dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees concerning the Law of the Sabbath. I wish to continue offering some reflections.

First, let us recall the Law of the Sabbath which God gave to Moses in the Old Testament: “Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all thy works. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.” (cf. Ex 20:9–10; Dt 5:13–14). What, then, was forbidden on the Sabbath? Let us consider several examples: “Six days shalt thou work; on the seventh day thou shalt cease, even at ploughing time, and at harvest.” (cf. Ex 34:21); “Six days shall ye gather it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, and there shall be none.” (cf. Ex 16:26); “On the sabbath day kindle no fire in any of your dwellings.” (cf. Ex 35:1).

Those Pharisees who disputed with Jesus held that His disciples, by plucking ears of grain to eat as they passed through the fields on the Sabbath, were engaged in manual labor and thus violating the Law of the Sabbath. They therefore accused Jesus and His disciples of breaking the Sabbath law. Jesus did not enter into direct confrontation with them. Instead, He cited the example from the Old Testament when David, in obedience to a royal mission, came to Abimelech the priest on the Sabbath, seeking food. After Abimelech verified that David and his companions met the minimum requirements of the Law, he removed the old loaves of showbread from before the Lord and gave them to David and his men, replacing them with fresh bread (cf. 1 Sm 21:2–7). In this way, David’s urgent need was met, and the heart of God’s Law—mercy and love—was revealed.

Today, many among us come to church to fulfill ecclesiastical obligations rather than to honor God. They are unwilling to draw near to Jesus Christ, who comes to our hearts under the appearances of bread and wine in the Most Holy Eucharist. Upon leaving the church, they continue to live according to the ways of this world, failing to embody the spirit befitting citizens of the Kingdom of God of which Jesus speaks. Like the Pharisees, they harshly judge those who, moved by charity as God’s people, care for the needy and are thereby unable to attend Mass. When we encounter such persons, we must help them understand the sacraments rightly, so that they may live in the spirit of the children of God’s Kingdom, dwelling in His truth and love, unled astray by the darkness of sin and error, and ever guided by the light of the Holy Spirit.

O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that does it honour. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica