July 9, 2026 Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time Or Optional Memorial of Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Martyrs Gospel: Mt 10:7-15
Today is Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates today the Optional Memorial of Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Martyrs. In the Chinese missionary region and among Chinese-speaking Catholic communities, this liturgical celebration is typically observed as a Feast or Solemnity. For pastoral reasons, we offer two distinct versions of reflections this year.
The Gospel passage for Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time continues from yesterday’s reading. Matthew proceeds to recount the instructions Jesus gave to His twelve apostles when He first sent them forth to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom. Let us attempt some reflection.
Jesus instructed the apostles going forth to proclaim the Kingdom to first declare that “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” He further charged them to proclaim the Gospel to the sick, to those living under the shadow of death, to those afflicted with physical or spiritual sores, and to those bound by the devil, the flesh, and the world (cf. Mt 10:7-8). This was intended to demonstrate to the world that the Kingdom He proclaimed stood in stark contrast to the “Kingdom of God” preached by the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, elders of the people, and chief priests of that time. Their conception of God’s Kingdom centered on a God who rewards the good and punishes the wicked, a God who delights in sacrifice and who harshly chastises those who fail to offer Him oblations—a realm entered only through ritual offering. But the Kingdom of God preached by Jesus is a Kingdom ruled by a God who loves all, a God who is Love alone; whoever is loved by God may enter His Kingdom.
Today, we too are called to go forth and proclaim the Kingdom as Jesus taught. But how do we proclaim it? I believe many brothers and sisters have had this experience: At times, filled with zeal, they journey to unfamiliar environments to evangelize. Instinctively, they seek suitable lodging and amenities, even planning the budget for the mission before it begins. Should the projected costs exceed their means, or if local accommodation falls short of their expectations, they choose to abandon the effort. Other brothers and sisters initially integrate well into their communities, but over time, divisions arise. They then invoke the words from today’s Gospel: “Whoever does not receive you or listen to your words—go out of that house or town and shake the dust off your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town” (cf. Mt 10:14-15), seeking to justify their departure and the resulting schism.
To those brothers and sisters harboring such thoughts, I wish to say: There are moments when we all feel disheartened and hopeless. Sometimes, we may even grow resentful toward God and those we serve, resolving to sever ties. When such thoughts arise, let us turn to Jesus hanging upon the Cross, imploring His mercy. May He manifest His power within us, dispelling every negative inclination and obstacle that hinders our path to God, so that we may remain ever centered on the Word of God and faithfully proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom.
O God, who in the abasement of your Son have raised up a fallen world, fill your faithful with holy joy, for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin you bestow eternal gladness. 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
July 8, 2026 Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mt 10:1-7
Today is Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew presents us with the account of Jesus sending forth His twelve apostles to proclaim the Gospel, granting them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every kind of disease and infirmity. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
First: Saint Matthew tells us that Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every kind of disease and infirmity (cf. Mt 10:1).
We know that Israel had twelve tribes. In the same way, Jesus gathered twelve disciples and sent them to the twelve tribes of Israel.
When Jesus sent them to drive out unclean spirits, what does “unclean spirits” refer to? It refers to those things that hinder us from knowing God and approaching Him—such as money, wealth, fame, social status, all forms of vanity, and the ideologies that imprison us. By sending them to drive out unclean spirits, Jesus was calling them to proclaim the word of God, using it as a weapon to courageously overcome the flesh, the world, and the devil. When Jesus sent them to heal every kind of disease, He intended not only the healing of physical illnesses but also the curing of the diseases inflicted upon the human soul by sin, so that through the grace given by Jesus Christ, the afflicted might find restoration.
Next, Matthew lists the names of the twelve apostles (cf. Mt 10:2-4). Among these apostles, some were fishermen who supported themselves by their own labor—such as Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John (cf. Mt 10:2). Others had received a good education, such as the tax collector Matthew (cf. Mt 10:3). Each had a different background, different relationships, and different temperaments. Yet, called by Christ, they came together to share in the mission of proclaiming the word of God. This very diversity reflects the Catholicity of the Church. Jesus did not demand uniformity from them; He embraced those with different personalities and backgrounds, so that each might fully employ their gifts in the fitting proclamation of the Gospel to the world.
In our Church today, there are many who, due to differing theological opinions or varying understandings of the Church’s hierarchy, have chosen to depart from us. Here, I invite all brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for them, asking the Lord to guide their thoughts and actions, and to lead them to imitate the apostolic community of the early Church—always in communion with the representative of Christ, Saint Peter and his successors—and, like the apostles of the early Church, to bear witness to the truth through their lives and concrete actions.
O God, who in the abasement of your Son have raised up a fallen world, fill your faithful with holy joy, for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin you bestow eternal gladness. 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
July 7, 2026 Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mt 9:32-38
Today is Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew presents to us the comments people made regarding what Jesus did during His time, as well as Jesus’ response to them. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
First, Matthew tells us that Jesus caused a mute person possessed by a demon to speak (cf. Mt 9:32-34). People said that Jesus did this not by the power of His being the Messiah of God, but by Beelzebul, a god of the Gentiles. Who is Beelzebul? Beelzebul was an idol worshipped by the Philistines in the plain of Sharon; there was a temple dedicated to him in Ekron. Originally a deity associated with healing calamities, some Jews, when they did not receive grace from their God, would secretly go to Ekron to seek healing from Beelzebul. Therefore, this was clearly a pagan false god. Those who followed the thinking of this false god were precisely those who refused to accept what Jesus taught concerning the ways of God’s world. The reason the Jews refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah of God was that they longed for a Messiah who would lead them to victory over the Roman Empire.
Next, Matthew tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds, He called them sheep without a shepherd (cf. Mt 9:36-38). This did not mean they had no shepherds, but rather that those who preached God to them were leading them away from what Jesus proclaimed about God. For the Pharisees taught the people through parables; in interpreting the Law, they included ancestral prohibitions, customs, and traditions—what they called the traditions of the elders. The God preached by the Sadducees was a God who excessively demanded sacrifices; whoever did not offer sacrifices to this God would be severely punished. Our Lord Jesus Christ preached a God who delights in His people—not a harsh God, nor a God who loves sacrifices, but a God who takes the initiative to give and constantly draws near to His creation. Therefore, He placed special emphasis on care for parents rather than replacing such care with sacrifices and Mass offerings. The scribes, priests, and elders of the people came precisely from among them. The Herodians were soldiers of King Herod, who deceived the Jews by claiming that Herod was the Messiah. Influenced by them, the Jews were greatly troubled, to the point that they no longer knew who God truly was or how to understand the Law of God. Jesus compared these Jews to a harvest, and those who preached the word of God to workers.
Saint John Chrysostom tells us that Jesus implicitly revealed Himself as the Master, for He Himself is the Lord of the harvest. If He sent the Apostles to reap what they had not sown, it was clearly not to reap another’s harvest, but to gather what He had sown through the prophets. Although the Twelve Apostles were workers, He said, “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers,” yet He did not add to their number; rather, He multiplied these Twelve many times over—not by increasing their numbers, but by granting them more abundant grace (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea, vol. 1, Commentary on Matthew).
Today, we often encounter people who have lost their ability to speak or are physically disabled. We frequently choose to keep our distance from them, fearing that associating with them might bring misfortune upon ourselves. We may even think that their illness is entirely justified, that we have no obligation to help them, and that their life or death is none of our concern. When such thoughts arise in our hearts, we become like the Pharisees—concerned only for our own lives and unwilling to care for the lives of others. Therefore, let us strive to imitate the virtue of Jesus Christ, set aside our own fixations, and see the world through the eyes of Jesus.
O God, who in the abasement of your Son have raised up a fallen world, fill your faithful with holy joy, for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin you bestow eternal gladness. 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
您必须登录才能发表评论。