July 6
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Due to maintenance on the church campus, the church and school are closed from July 6-July 10th. There will not be daily Mass or live stream available. Readings and reflections will still be available. The parking lot and church will reopen for 4 PM Vigil Mass on Saturday, July 10th. Thank you for your understanding and support as we strive to make Holy Cross a warm and welcome place to be.
Readings
First Reading
Genesis 32:23-33
In the course of the night, Jacob arose, took his two wives, with the two maidservants and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had taken them across the stream and had brought over all his possessions, Jacob was left there alone. Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When the man saw that he could not prevail over him, he struck Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the hip socket was wrenched as they wrestled. The man then said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” The man asked, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel, because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed.” Jacob then asked him, “Do tell me your name, please.” He answered, “Why should you want to know my name?” With that, he bade him farewell. Jacob named the place Peniel, “Because I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.”
At sunrise, as he left Penuel, Jacob limped along because of his hip. That is why, to this day, the children of Israel do not eat the sciatic muscle that is on the hip socket, inasmuch as Jacob’s hip socket was struck at the sciatic muscle.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b and 15
R. (15a) In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
From you let my judgment come;
your eyes behold what is right.
Though you test my heart, searching it in the night,
though you try me with fire, you shall find no malice in me.
R. In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee from their foes.
R. In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence.
R. In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
John 10:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 9:32-38
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
“In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.”
Reflection
Bishop Robert Barron, in his book And Now I See, suggests that because we know Christ and count ourselves among Christians, we cannot help but see things in a different light that we would have without the influence of Christ in our life. All the actions of Christ during his public ministry, the inclusion of those excluded by society, the miracles of healing and raising the dead, the eating with sinners, all cause us to realize that Christ loved those who were different from himself.
If we are true followers of Christ, then why do we as faithful Christians have such difficulty with those who are different? I do not mean just those whose expression of faith is different from ours, but those who are less fortunate, less blessed, and those who live their lives without the benefit of the gift of a well-developed faith.
It seems as though we feel threatened by those who are different. Will they injure us in some way, either physically or spiritually? Will we become like them? Remember, Pope Francis has stated that we must live in and with the poor if we are to care for them.
This day, let us pray for a sympathetic heart that not only is open to the other, but one that truly expresses the care that Christ has for all people.
Peace,
Fr. John
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