13 July 2026 Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time / Saint Henry Gospel: Matthew 10:34–11:1
Today is Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of Saint Henry II. The Roman Martyrology tells us: Saint Henry II (972–1024) succeeded his father, Henry the Quarrelsome, Duke of Bavaria, in 995. In 1002, he was elected Holy Roman Emperor. He is remembered as a just ruler, a defender of the Church, a friend of the poor, and a model of virtue. After the death of his wife, Saint Cunegund, he considered withdrawing from the world to embrace the monastic life but was persuaded to persevere faithfully in his imperial vocation. Henry II died peacefully on 13 July 1024 and was buried in Bamberg Cathedral, a see which he himself had established. He is the patron of Benedictine Oblates.
Today’s passage from the Gospel of Saint Matthew continues to present the instruction Jesus gave when sending out His Twelve Apostles to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom. I wish to take this opportunity to offer further reflections.
At times, we may harbor illusions about the faith, thinking that our belief exists solely to promote world peace and advocate kindness toward others. Such notions arise because we continue to view matters through the logic of this world. Those who belong to this world—those who know the teachings of Jesus yet refuse to live according to His holy will—avoid conflict with their fathers, mothers, or mothers-in-law. When their understanding of faith and religion clashes with others, they choose to yield.
What ought our understanding of faith and religion to be? It must align with the teaching of God’s Word: we are to tell our families that the God we believe in is utterly distinct from the god they imagine. The God we believe in is a God who loves: He loves not only those who honor Him, but also those who sin and turn away from Him. Even if all we declare and all we do for love of God stands in sharp contrast to their expectations—even if it provokes their displeasure—we must still act thus, to bear witness to Christ. For each of us is made in the image and likeness of God. If our conduct conforms to God’s teaching, then those who receive us will receive their reward. He does not intend for us to grow proud from this, but rather to become gentle, meek and humble of heart like Him, so as to give fitting witness to Him before the world.
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.
12 July 2026 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel: Matthew 13:1-23
Today is the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel of Saint Matthew presents us with the Parable of the Sower and the subsequent dialogue between the disciples and Jesus after hearing this parable. I wish to offer some reflections on this occasion.
One might think that in speaking to His disciples today, Jesus is merely describing a farmer going out to sow seed and the varied fates of those seeds. Yet, if we hold such a view, we remain like those who do not yet know Christ: though we hear the Word of God, we fail to grasp the meaning of the divine will. We become that “dull-hearted people, who hear but do not understand, and see but do not perceive” (cf. Isa 6:9-10; Matt 13:14-15). For we focus only on what appeals to our corruptible flesh, rejecting what seems unfathomable, and even choosing to ignore the Word of God—and all that God, in His infinite mercy, accomplishes within our lives—precisely because His Word is difficult to comprehend.
In truth, the seed is the Word of God. The Word of God was with God in the beginning (John 1:2). From the moment we left our mother’s womb and entered this world, God has ceaselessly revealed to us the mysteries of the Kingdom through “all things that were made through Him and by Him” (cf. John 1:3). Moreover, in His boundless compassion, He continues to disclose these mysteries to us through our fellow creatures: our parents and elders; our classmates and teachers; our colleagues and superiors. Through their toil and sweat, He waters the seed sown in our hearts, nurturing its growth.
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! Whenever we heed the lessons taught by those around us in daily life, we are like the crowds who approached Jesus to listen to Him proclaim the mysteries of the Kingdom. Whenever we experience what God accomplishes within us through those with whom we interact, we come to understand the heavenly truth contained in the Word of God. When we come to the church and receive the Body and Blood of Christ from the hands of the pastor in communion with the Successor of Peter, our spirit is united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. If our conduct gradually conforms to His, we shall bear lasting fruit 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.
July 11, 2026 Saint Benedict, Abbot (Feast) Gospel: Mt 19:27–29
Today is Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Benedict, Abbot.
The Roman Martyrology tells us that Saint Benedict (c. 480 – c. 547) was born in Norcia, Italy. Turning his back on the worldliness he encountered in Rome, he withdrew to live as a hermit in a cave near Subiaco. As his fame spread, disciples came to follow him; he organized them into twelve small monasteries. Later, he moved to Monte Cassino and founded the famous abbey there. Drawing on the wisdom of the Eastern Christian monastic tradition, earlier Western rules (especially the Rule of Saint Benedict), and his own experience, he composed his Rule. In view of his profound influence on the formation of Christian civilization, Pope Paul VI proclaimed him Patron of Europe.
For regions celebrating Saint Benedict, Abbot, with the rank of Feast, the Gospel presents a dialogue between Jesus and Peter. Let us try to reflect.
Sometimes, we regard everything we currently possess as our own property, and may even think: “By following Jesus Christ, I have given up everything and suffered great loss.” We desire immediate returns.
In reality, everything we have does not belong to us, but to God. For He created the heavens and the earth, the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, all livestock, wild animals, and creeping things, and even we ourselves are made in His image. God has given us everything He created to manage (cf. Gn 1:26–30). Therefore, for us, renouncing everything is not a loss, but a means of lightening our soul and simplifying our lives. When our lives become simple, we begin to set our hearts on heavenly things. The houses, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, children, and lands that coexist with us in this passing world will no longer be obstacles to our path to holiness, but will actually assist us in becoming holy. For if, according to God’s providence and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we follow Him, that merciful and compassionate Holy Spirit will guide each of us according to our intellect and capacity. He enables us to see the world with the eyes of the new age spoken of by Jesus. Then, we will no longer strive to be first; we will willingly take the last place. We will no longer seek to dominate others, but sincerely desire, according to the will of the Holy Spirit, to help those brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and children who coexist with us, so that they too, like us, may reject the values of this passing world and accept the new age proclaimed by Jesus.
O God, who made the Abbot Saint Benedict an outstanding master in the school of divine service, grant, we pray, that, putting nothing before love of you, we may hasten with a loving heart in the way of your commands. 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.
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