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.
July 11, 2026 Saint Benedict, Abbot (Memorial) Gospel: Mt 10:16–23
Today is Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Memorial 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.
Considering that this feast is celebrated as a Feast in certain regions and dioceses, we offer two versions of the reflection this year. For dioceses celebrating it as a Memorial, the Gospel continues yesterday’s instruction from Jesus. Let us reflect.
In our daily lives, we constantly interact with others. Among these people are some who are well-educated. For instance, during our studies, teachers who impart various skills and knowledge become guiding lights on our life’s journey, enabling us to survive in this changing world. Or again, when gathered in our families, relatives bound to us by blood often care for us, showing concern in ways they deem appropriate. Likewise, when we enter the workforce, we frequently interact with colleagues and superiors, who often impose their own or the collective’s will upon us, requiring us to accomplish tasks they consider correct.
When dealing with these people, we often protect ourselves by uttering flattery and insincere words, compromising the principles of honesty and integrity taught by God through His Church, in order to fit in and live better in this world. We place great value on the wealth offered by the rulers and agents of this world to their followers, while despising the grace God bestows upon all things in Christ—grace granted through Baptism to those who belong to Him. When sacred ministers, chosen and sent by Christ to care for us, approach us, we instinctively avoid them, unwilling to reveal fully what lies in our hearts, seeking instead to hide the unrighteous deeds we have committed.
As Christ teaches: “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known” (cf. Mt 10:26). Everything we try to hide in this present life will surely be brought to light when we conclude our earthly journey and face the just judgment of God. Then, the righteous Lord will render a just verdict upon us.
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.
July 10, 2026 Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mt 10:16–23
Today is Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The passage taken from the Gospel of Saint Matthew continues to show us the instruction Jesus gave when He first sent out His twelve Apostles to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom, to heal every disease, and to drive out demons. Let us try to enter into reflection.
As I write today’s reflection on the Daily Word, many thoughts come to me. For the world we live in today is precisely a world of wolves. In this world of wolves, we cannot but face all kinds of challenges. For example: because our visions do not align, we are often rejected even by our own families, and sometimes even by the ecclesial community we belong to. At times, we may be handed over by our own brothers and sisters to secular courts, to be judged by the laws of this world that belongs to the wolves. The law of the world of wolves stands in complete opposition to the law of God’s world. For the law of the wolves’ world stresses rewarding good and punishing evil, strict and unbending enforcement; but the law of God’s world stresses love—because God is love, He is love alone—He loves the good and He loves the righteous. For “He makes His sun rise on the bad and the good and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (cf. Mt 5:45). His love is without distinction for all.
Last year, in the reflection I wrote for the Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot, I mentioned this: when we stand before law-enforcement officers or those who do not know Christ, we may feel panic, because at that moment we do not know what to say or what to do. That is because we are still looking at things according to the logic of this passing world, and so we fall into that grotesque logic of self-justification. But Jesus tells us: “At that time it will be given to you… For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (cf. Mt 10:19–20). This is the challenge the world poses to us.
Regrettably, the Church today is more challenged than in the past. Groups that, for various reasons, choose to refuse communion with the Successor of Peter are gradually appearing. Consumerism, the throwaway culture, individualism—these ideas and mindsets, and the actions of those who live by them, cannot be reconciled at all with the teaching of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church which the Word of God Himself founded upon the Apostle Peter. For none of this comes from the Holy Spirit of God, but from corruptible human nature.
Today, Jesus asks us to “endure to the end” (cf. Mt 10:22)—that is, to hold fast to His teaching, to trust firmly in the Holy Spirit of God, and under the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern the various voices we hear within the Church; to receive continually, from the hands of the pastors who are in communion with the Successor of Peter, the Body and Blood of Christ; and, by the Word of God that comes to our hearts, to resist bravely every temptation, and to live worthily the vocation God has given us.
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
本人因此郑重宣告，在法律上完全有效：上述德加拉雷塔（Alfonso de Galarreta）主教，以及施赖伯（Pascal Schreiber）、戈尔达德（Michael Goldade）、普安西内德萨夫里（Michel Poinsinet de Sivry），以及阿纳皮耶（Marc Hanappier）四位，已自动招致保留于宗座的自科绝罚。
全属于祢 
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