Weekly Reflections
GOSPEL MEDITATION - ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE
Readings for the week of July 6, 2025
Sunday: Is 66:10-14c/Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 (1)/Gal 6:14-18/Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 or 10:1-9
Monday: Gn 28:10-22a/Ps 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab/Mt 9:18-26
Tuesday: Gn 32:23-33/Ps 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b and 15/Mt 9:32-38
Wednesday: Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a/Ps 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19/Mt 10:1-7
Thursday: Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5/Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21/Mt 10:7-15
Friday: Gn 46:1-7, 28-30/Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40/Mt 10:16-23
Saturday: Gn 49:29-32; 50:15-26a/Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7/Mt 10:24-33
Next Sunday: Dt 30:10-14/Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 (see 33)/Col 1:15-20/Lk 10:25-37
Observances for the week of July 6, 2025
Sunday: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday: St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
Thursday:
Friday: St. Benedict, Abbot
Saturday:
Next Sunday: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
GOSPEL MEDITATION - ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE
July 6, 2025
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
In the days after the awful 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Catholic friend remarked, “Racism is today’s great evil. We should put all our energy into fighting it.” I admired her intuition that the church must stand firmly against evil. Amen, I thought. At the same time, something felt wrong. As months went by, I saw her steadily slide into bitterness and anger. Soon, despondency. She spoke of giving up the fight. Don’t we too wonder how to fight evil without losing our joy or energy?
Jesus’ words this week help. He says, “Rejoice not that you have power over demons, but that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Notice the asymmetry in where he wants our focus: on the latter, not the former. Should we confidently embrace our God-given power to overcome evil? Absolutely. But even more so, we should emphasize the positive element of our relationship to God. It is tempting but dangerous to define ourselves by what we oppose. It is better to define ourselves by––to rejoice in––what we celebrate: in Jesus, God has written our names in heaven. This sustains our battles.
This week, our marching orders are: fight evil. But more deeply, rejoice that God knows and loves us personally, individually. We allow this joyful knowledge to undergird our fight against the darkness of our day. Then we enjoy long-term stability to be cheerful warriors, who never forget the reason for the contests we are called to fight and win: love.
First Reading:
Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent. (Is 66:12)
Psalm:
Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. (Ps 66)
Second Reading:
From now on, let no one make troubles for me;
for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body. (Gal 6:17)
Gospel:
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits
are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Lk 10:20)
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK - INVITE PARISHIONERS TO REFLECT AND RESPOND TO SCRIPTURE
1st Reading Question:
Isaiah speaks of God’s love and care for Jerusalem as a loving mother who feeds and comforts her child. What are some favorite memories or images you have of your mother?
2nd Reading Question:
Paul ends his letter to the Galatians emphasizing that believers are part of God’s “new creation,” no longer defined by circumcision and uncircumcision. How does your faith community encourage or energize you to think differently?
Gospel Question:
The 72 followers of Jesus succeeded in their work to preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick and demon possessed. What does a successful parish look like today?
LIVE THE LITURGY - INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK
As he sends his disciples into the world to proclaim his name, Jesus tells them to be bold. He tells them to be flexible. To be forgiving. To be faithful. As we enter this week, let’s remember these instructions. It’s good advice, in any century.
(PRACTICING) CATHOLIC - RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS
Mini reflection: Too often, life falls short of my expectations — an opportunity didn’t work out, a day didn’t go the way I planned — so I ball up my fists and stomp my feet. And God takes the Book of the Gospels and opens it to Luke, Chapter 10.
On Pilgrimage
Before I embarked on my trip to the National Eucharistic Congress last summer with a group from my archdiocese, we had an orientation meeting. At that meeting, the coordinator of the trip shared with us “The Five Rules of Pilgrimage.”
If you’re not familiar with them (I wasn’t), here they are:
- Don’t complain.
- Don’t complain. (It’s so important, it’s listed twice.)
- When you see a bathroom, use it.
- When someone offers you something, receive it.
- When someone asks you for something, give it.
It’s great advice for a pilgrimage, but more than that, I think it’s great advice in general. So when I read today’s Gospel and I hear Jesus say essentially the same thing to his disciples as they set out to evangelize (well, minus the bathroom tip, but those weren’t as much of a thing in biblical Judea), I come to an important realization.
The whole Christian life is a pilgrimage.
Too often, life falls short of my expectations. An opportunity didn’t work out. A day didn’t go the way I planned (like, at all). A person didn’t accept me. And I ball up my fists and stomp my feet like a full-grown Veruca Salt, and I yell: I cannot work in these conditions!
And then, I imagine God, on his celestial throne, sighs and opens the Book of the Gospels (surely he keeps it handy, don’t you think?) to Luke, Chapter 10. And he whispers in my heart what he said to his disciples 2,000 years ago.
Don’t complain. Be open and give of yourself, and in turn, receive what comes your way, whatever it is. If it’s good, rejoice. If it’s not good, move on. And in the end, remember where you’re headed — the place you’re trying to go.
Oh, and again: don’t complain.
EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP - RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS
If you had $100 to give away, to whom would you give it? Perhaps you would choose someone you love. How about someone on the street at a corner stoplight? You could really make someone's day if you gave it to them as a tip after a modestly priced meal. There are so many possibilities. No matter to whom you give the $100, you are certainly being generous. No one can debate that.
Let's say you have narrowed it down to two different people. You know both of these people, and you suspect each person would be equally grateful. Does it make a difference who you give the money to in the end? What if I told you that one of the individuals just got a big raise at work, and the other person is at risk of having their water turned off because they have been late paying their bill. Does it make a difference now?
Discernment should always be an important part of any good steward's way of life. If we give simply for the sake of giving, that may not always be the best use of our gifts. In order to gain the most fruit from the seeds we plant, we must plant wisely. All we have been given has value, and we need be good caretakers of it all. If you ever do find yourself with $100 to spare, be sure to carefully consider all the options and make the wiser choice. In the meantime, pray for wisdom and reflect on how to best use all you have been given for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
When God Speaks Like a Polish Grandmother
A friend of mine had a Polish grandmother who was famous for giving her children some blunt advice every time they left the house: “Eyes straight ahead. Mind your own business.”
Every mother knows her children best, and this mother knew hers liked to argue and sometimes liked to show off. She knew that could lead to trouble. She could not anticipate every scenario they would encounter each time they departed from her. All she could do was distill what she knew about life, safety, and manners into a few simple words, and hand them over to her children like a set of car keys or a hastily scribbled map. In this way, a woman who rarely said “I love you” expressed her devotion. And long after she was dead and buried, her aging sons and daughters repeated these words to themselves, like a child wrapping himself in a warm blanket.
Jesus does much the same for us, in many portions of the Gospels. “Ask the master to send out laborers for his harvest…Carry no money…Eat what is set before you…Know that the Kingdom of God is at hand…Rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.”
He knows us best — knows our strengths, but even more importantly, he knows our weaknesses. He doesn’t always have the space to address each of these explicitly in the pages of Scripture, but what he can do is distill the truth of effective evangelization into a few simple words, and hand them over to us as food for our journey of discipleship. In this way, a God who addresses the entire world and every soul who ever lived also speaks intimately to each one of us.
Why Do We Do That?
Catholic Life Explained.
Carry Your Cross
Question:
As Catholics, we talk a lot about “redemptive suffering” and “carrying your cross.” What does that mean practically in daily life?
Answer:
When Jesus spoke these words, they would have sounded quite intense to his hearers. “Pick up your cross daily and follow me.” At the time, Jesus hadn’t yet been crucified. A cross was a Roman torture instrument. “Pick up the thing that tortures you the most,” Jesus seemed to say. Unfortunately, most of us have no real shortage of these in our life. To take up the cross isn’t to seek out new sufferings in our life. It’s to accept the life we have.
Of course, unjust or unhealthy circumstances should be rectified when possible. But there are always circumstances that remain out of our immediate control. It could be pain management, the defiance of our teenage child, or an unhealthy work environment … but you need the paycheck to pay the bills. In difficult circumstances, it can be easier to blame, complain, or daydream our way out of it. None of these are real solutions, since none of them accept the reality of the situation at hand. Those options only add to our suffering, since they damage relationships, fixate on the problem, or set up unrealistic expectations.
Instead, Jesus invites us to take up our cross — to look at the uncomfortable situation square in the eyes, take a deep breath, and do our best to be present to God’s grace in the moment. To love those in our path. To take things one step at a time
Prayer for Evangelization
As You reach out to the world, Lord, let us be Your hands!
As You answer those crying, send us.
Let us be Your people, answer to prayers prayed, comfort to the afflicted.
May we be laborers in Your harvest.
Amen
Prayer of Pastoral Care
O God,
Bless the souls You have entrusted to our care. As You hear every one of their prayers, help us to hear them, too. Answer their prayer intentions and personal needs through us and our ministry, as we all seek to do Your will.
Amen.
Prayer for the True Presence
Jesus,
What a gift we have in your True Presence: the assurance of your friendship, your company, your grace, your love.
Increase our thirst for you as you, also, desire to draw closer to us.
Amen.
Memorare Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help,
or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity
Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who calls us into communion with Him,
a life of grace and mystery, reconciliation and unity.
Amen.
Prayer for Pentecost
Holy Spirit of God —
Disturb this room with your presence today, filling us, empowering us, emboldening us.
Descend upon us with your gifts, your inspiration, and your promptings.
Lead us to where we should go, stirring within us the movement of God.
Amen.
Prayer for Peace
Fill us with Your peace, Lord, as you promised in Your word.
Peace in our comings and goings,
Peace that You are working and moving,
Peace for what has happened, the places we find ourselves today, and in the future to come.
Amen.
Growing the Gospel For Our Children
Tap the button below the poster to print the games and puzzle's
(each game uses 2 sheets of paper)
CATHOLIC TRIVIA – JUST FOR FUN
(Click the down arrow for the answer!)
Question: Where is St. Peter buried?
Question: Where is St. Peter buried?
Answer: The current location of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Question: What is the instrument used to sprinkle holy water on the congregation during Mass called?
Question: What is the instrument used to sprinkle holy water on the congregation during Mass called?
Answer: The aspergillum
Question: What does the celebrant say at the conclusion of each Mass?
Question: What does the celebrant say at the conclusion of each Mass?
Answer: “The Mass is ended, go in peace.”
Question: What is the official name for the seats inside of a church used by the general congregation?
Question: What is the official name for the seats inside of a church used by the general congregation?
Answer: Pews
Question: What year marked the first time that Catholics in the United States were allowed to receive the Eucharist in their hands?
Question: What year marked the first time that Catholics in the United States were allowed to receive the Eucharist in their hands?
Answer: 1977