July 5, 2026 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel: Matthew 11:25–30
Today is the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew presents to us the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Indeed, we have already proclaimed this text on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this year. Yet, re-reading it within the context of the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time may offer us a different spiritual resonance.
In the Daily Reflection for this year’s Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, I cited the teaching of Pope Saint John Paul II, who instructed us: To venerate the Sacred Heart of Christ is to enter into the contemplation of the innermost core of the Savior’s Heart; Scripture indicates that this Heart is the very center of His Person and the abode of that love which has saved the world.If the human heart is already a fathomless mystery known only to God, how much more sublime and exalted is the Heart of Jesus—for within it beats the pulse of the life of the Word. As revealed in Scripture and celebrated in the Litany of the Sacred Heart, we discover in the Heart of Jesus all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and the fullness of divinity. To save humanity lost through disobedience, God wills to grant us a “new heart” conformed to His merciful will; this Heart is the Sacred Heart of Jesus, it is the masterpiece of the Holy Spirit—which began to beat within the virginal womb of Mary and was pierced by the lance upon the Cross, thereby becoming an inexhaustible fountain of life for all. This Heart has now become a powerful testament of hope for all men and women throughout the world. (Cf. Pope Saint John Paul II, Angelus, June 23, 2002.)
Today, we are invited once again to gaze upon the Heart of Jesus. It is this Heart—which, out of love for us, bore our burdens, reveals to us in meekness the Face of the Merciful Father, and invites us to come to Him to lay down our heavy loads so as to receive peace and joy—that calls us to embody its spirit in our daily lives. As I noted in my reflection during the 2022 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: We often find ourselves constrained by our habitual ways of acting and perceiving the world. When these ways or “paths” are closed, we begin to seek how to move forward and continue our journey. There, the will of God frequently manifests itself, revealing another way prepared for us. When we encounter obstacles, God is there to renew the covenant and raise us up from our discouragement. We need only to trust in God, who gives us light and endures forever, that when our paths are blocked, we may always find a way forward. When we are willing and open to the working of the Holy Spirit, a new beginning is always possible. As the Church, let us constantly look to the past to seek the true Light, and look to the future to discern new paths, so that we may continue to shine with the light of the Gospel through new graces. As Christians, may we glorify God by mutually accepting one another. (Cf. Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Reflection for the Eighth Day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 2022.)
To achieve genuine mutual acceptance, we must identify the factors that hinder it. Here, I wish to name a few: money, power, social status. When our hearts are captivated by these things, we cease to be children of God and become children of the world. Then, we no longer accept one another sincerely; any occasional acceptance is born of temporary common interest, and once that interest fades, we turn against one another.
Therefore, on this Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, let us become like little children in purity: viewing God with the eyes of faith, listening to the Divine Word with the ears of faith, and proclaiming the Word with the mouth of an infant at the breast. Let us seek God alone, long for Heaven alone, and thirst for the will of God alone. Thus, the Word of God will reveal to us ever more profound mysteries of the Kingdom, drawing us closer to Heaven, even allowing us to dwell therein, and to remain in God’s presence at every moment.
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 4, 2026 Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time / Saint Elizabeth of Hungary / Saturday Special Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary Gospel: Matthew 9:14-17
Today is Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time, a day on which the Church traditionally renders special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and also the Optional Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
The Roman Martyrology tells us: Saint Elizabeth (1271–1336) was the daughter of King Peter III of Aragon and was named after her great-aunt, Saint Elizabeth, the patroness of Hungary. Though she entered into a difficult marriage with the King of Portugal, she performed many works of charity and peacemaking. Upon becoming a widow, she moved to live near the Poor Clare convent in Coimbra, living a life of dedication.
Today, the passage taken from the Gospel of Matthew presents a dialogue between Jesus and the disciples of John the Baptist. Let us strive to understand it.
Let us first consider the question posed by the disciples of John the Baptist to Jesus: “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” (cf. Matt 9:14). The fasting they mentioned refers to that outward form of penance easily perceived by others, typically characterized by reduced food or complete abstinence, making the body suffer. They frequently used this to appear pious, completely forgetting the meaning behind fasting. For causing the body to suffer does not conform to the teaching of God, since the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. For Christians, external austerity is not what matters; what matters is the interior fast—namely, emptying one’s own heart so as to receive the light of the Holy Spirit and rediscover the Word of God within our hearts.
Next, let us see how Jesus answered the disciples of John the Baptist: Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (cf. Matt 9:15). Here, the bridegroom refers to Jesus. The wedding guests mentioned here refer to the Apostles who were accompanying Jesus. The time when the bridegroom is with his guests refers to the time when Jesus is present in the Church; at that time, the Church encounters the Lord at every moment and experiences the various graces the Lord Jesus bestows upon them. That is truly a time of joy.
Here, I wish to address certain phenomena within the Church. When we come to the church to participate in Mass, we often ritualize the Mass, paying no heed whatsoever to the presence of Jesus, because at that moment, the devil, the world, and corruptible flesh entice us to think about worldly matters, diverting our attention from the Word of God to outside the church. This is when Jesus is taken away. Even though we sacramentally receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, this Body and Blood produce no effect whatsoever in our hearts, because we reject Jesus’ dwelling within us.
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord! Since we have received Baptism in Christ, received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and frequently receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we must, from the depths of our hearts, welcome Jesus, always under the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit, carry out the will of God, imitate Saint Elizabeth and the Blessed Virgin Mary, renounce all things of the world, and set out upon the path to eternal life that the Holy Spirit points out to us.
O God, Author of peace and lover of charity, who adorned Saint Elizabeth with the marvelous grace of reconciling those in conflict, grant, through her intercession, that we may become peacemakers, and so be called children of God. Through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, you and he and the Holy Spirit are God, for ever and ever. Amen.
July 3, 2026 Saint Thomas the Apostle Gospel: John 20:24-29
Today is Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time, and the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle. Pope Benedict XVI introduced this Apostle to us in these words: Saint Thomas (first century), called the “Twin,” is chiefly remembered for doubting the reality of the Resurrection until he saw the Lord for himself. Once he was satisfied, he made a heartfelt profession of faith: “My Lord and my God.” Saint Thomas, who probably suffered martyrdom as a result of preaching the Gospel in India, comforts us when our faith is weak, encourages us to persevere, and demonstrates that “every doubt can lead to an outcome brighter than any uncertainty.”
Today, the passage from the Gospel of John presents the narrative of the encounter between the doubting Thomas and the risen Lord Jesus Christ. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
John first tells us about the dialogue between the Apostles, who had seen the risen Lord, and Thomas. At that time, they said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (cf. John 20:24-25)
We can see ourselves in Thomas. For when we hear our brothers and sisters proclaim to us that they have seen the Lord, we too, like the disciples of Jesus, may think that Jesus has “come back to life” rather than “risen,” and we may even, like Thomas, consider what they say to be like a fable, difficult to accept. Our difficulty in accepting this is because we often view it according to the world’s understanding of life; according to our own reasoning, they seem to have seen the ghost of Jesus. But Jesus has truly risen. Those who saw him no longer looked upon Jesus with physical eyes, but with the eyes of faith.
Today, Jesus himself appears to Thomas and invites him to touch the sacred wounds he bears for love of us. He says, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (cf. John 20:27) Thomas immediately chooses to believe—not because of Jesus’ wounds, but because he no longer understood Jesus’ Resurrection and the risen Lord before him according to merely human reason belonging to this world. At that moment, he viewed all this with the eyes of faith befitting a true child of God. No longer did he understand God as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, priests, scribes, lawyers, or elders of the people did at that time. His reason told him that the god spoken of by the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, priests, scribes, lawyers, and elders was illusory, whereas the God proclaimed by Jesus is the true God. Feeling the warmth Jesus brought him, he responded in the only way he could express: “My Lord and my God!” (cf. John 20:28) After Jesus ascended into heaven, he left the Roman Empire, passing through Kerala and Tamil Nadu in southern India, and even reaching Muziris (present-day North Paravur and Kodungallur). He founded Eastern Catholic Churches in regions around what is now Van Province, Edessa, and Hakkari in Upper Mesopotamia (southeastern Turkey). Sometime between the mid-30s and his mid-40s, he spent years evangelizing Jews and pagans in that region before advancing further east in the late 40s. Finally, he rested in the Lord in the year 72.
Today, as the Church solemnly celebrates the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, she invites us to imitate the virtues of Saint Thomas. Under the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are called to discern carefully the unique vocation God has given to each of us, to follow in the footsteps of Saint Thomas the Apostle, and to fulfill our own vocations worthily.
Grant, almighty God, that we may glory in the Feast of the blessed Apostle Thomas, so that we may always be sustained by his intercession and, believing, may have life in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, whom Thomas acknowledged as the Lord. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
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