Friday, July 10, 2026

 

Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 14:2-10; Matthew 10:16-23)

In Robert Frost’s memorable poem, “Tree at my Window,” the poet compares a tree to himself.  He says that like the tree he sees in a storm, he tosses and turns in his sleep.  But as the tree, moored to the earth, does not fall, he survives his restless nights.  In today’s reading from the prophet Hosea compares the people of Israel to different trees.

Unmoored from idols and connected to God, Israel is as strong and fragrant as a Lebanon cedar.  The people are gloriously fruitful like an olive tree.  Also, like the protection the cedar and the cypress provide, they raise grain to nourish themselves. 

Like Israel, we must rid ourselves of idols so that we might thrive like a redwood or a giant oak.  Idols, of course, include more than metals objects some think of as bringing them good luck.  Idols are what we wrongly consider as sources of satisfaction, even of happiness.  They can be sports teams, rock stars, perhaps our cars or our telephones.  We must acknowledge the Lord as the source of all good things and duly give Him thanks and praise.

Thursday, July 9, 2026

 

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 11:1-4.8e-9; Matthew 10:7-15)

Today when people set out on a journey they take more than what they need.  “Just in case,” they say, they carry clothes for the fall on a summer journey and a few hundred dollars more than what they anticipate spending.  Their concern with having enough contrasts with Jesus’ lesson for his missionaries in today’s gospel.

Jesus wants his apostles to preach the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God.  They are to show evidence of the Kingdom by their ministry to the sick and to the mentally disturbed.  Also, their own dependency upon God anticipates the immediacy of His Kingdom’s presence. They are not to take money, nor clothes other than what they wear, nor even a walking stick to help them traverse rough terrain.

Do Jesus’ instructions have any bearing on how we live today?  To be sure, it is meant for missionaries, not vacationers or salespersons on business.  Yet it warns us about greed.  We are not to let our risk-aversion culture make us worry about what may happen.  Rather we are to be practice what was called “liberality” by classical philosophers.  Liberality is the virtue that enables us to use our resources for the good of all. It frees us from fussing about whether we will always have enough so that we might help those now facing legitimate crises.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

 

Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 10:1-3.7-8.12; Matthew 10:1-7)

The readings from the prophet Hosea these past two days tell of sowing and reaping.  Yesterday the prophet warned that if Israel sows the wind, it will reap the whirlwind.  The wind is the panoply of false gods – money, pleasure, power, and prestige.  Hosea means that any people who strives primarily for these vanities is bound to wreak havoc upon itself.  This result was evidenced after World War I, the so-called “Great War.”  After the Allied powers imposed heavy penalties upon Germany, a second, more disastrous war followed.

In today’s reading Hosea pleads with Israel to “sow for yourselves” justice so that it may “reap the fruit of piety.”  If a nation endeavors to put into practice the Lord’s justice, it will be duly rewarded.  After World War II, the United States established the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe.  As a result, in not too many years the whole continent flourished economically.  The United States had markets for its products as well as the goodwill of the world.

We sometimes see slogans like “follow your dreams” or “do what your feelings tell you.”  Such advice might lead to “sow(ing) the wind.”  We are wise to think through our dreams and feelings to see where they are leading.  If they move us to love God and neighbor, then yes, let’s consider them seriously.  If not, let’s find fruitful alternatives.

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

 

Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Matthew 9:32-38; Hosea 8:4-7.11-13)

Today’s gospel passage represents a bridge from the first to the second of five sections making up the body of Matthew’s Gospel.  In the first section Jesus delivers his great Sermon on the Mount and begins his ministry of healing and exorcising.  The reading tells of an exorcism and then summarizes Jesus’ work.

The second section begins by noting Jesus’ compassion. He responds to the people’s need for pastoral guidance by drawing his disciples’ attention to it.  But rather than immediately sending them out to minister, he asks them to pray to God.  All pastoral ministry should begin by petitioning the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus will soon give his “apostolic discourse” instructing his disciples on how to proclaim the gospel.

 It is often said that the gospels are not biographies of Jesus.  Rather they were presentations of events in his life that show why early Christians believed in him as Lord.  Their writers were skilled theologians and dramatists who were utterly convinced that Jesus saves believers from their sins.  They give us additional reason to move beyond our doubts and to follow Jesus with all our hearts.

Monday, July 6, 2026

 

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 2:16.17c-18.21-22; Matthew 9:18-26)

Today’s reading from the prophet Hosea complements the history of Israel whose story was told at Mass during the last few weeks.  Hosea prophesied in Israel during the period of its corruption and downfall.  The people abandoned the justice which God’s law sought to establish.  Instead of absolute worship of the Lord God and care for the oppressed, the well-to-do people of both Northern and Southern Kingdoms chose self-gratification and worship of indulgent gods.  The result was disaster.

Hosea writes of a future time when Israel would recognize the true God who rescued their ancestors from slavery and endowed them with a law of moral perfection.  The prophet identifies Israel with a wanton woman who is left in distress.  God calls this woman into the desert of penance where she recognizes her sins and returns to the Lord, her Creator and Redeemer.  Once forgiven, she becomes the Lord’s bride in a union of faithful love.

We recognize the marriage taking place in Jesus’ union with Israel’s remnant which forms the Church.  His cross has cleansed the people of their sins. His resurrection has made her his bride for eternity.  We become his bride when we renounce desires to live for pleasure or power over others.  We also pledge ourselves to God’s honor and glory.  As troubled as our social environment has become, giving ourselves solely to him is a tall order.  But we must not reject it because it promises fullness of life.