Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection July 04, 2025

04th July 2025 (Friday)

Psalter: Week 1

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67

Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Psalm 106:1b-2, 3-4a, 4b-5 R. (1b)

R/. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

R/. Alleluia

Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13

At that time: As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Daily Gospel Reflection

Friday – 13th Week in Ordinary Time

Main Point: God calls anybody and everybody irrespective, and the purpose is not so much the individual benefit but the higher and larger good

1. In the gospel, today, we have the call of Matthew. For our reflection, we can pick up some simple pointers. First, Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, usually looked down on as a sinner by society. Thus, God calls anyone. There is no differentiation or discrimination on the part of God. He does not go by human labels or estimates as righteous or sinner, friend or foe, important or insignificant, rich or poor. etc. Why should we put restrictions and conditions on God’s grace when He offers it to all? How can we be so selfish as to greedily own the whole of God’s grace? Why do we feel so jealous when someone is blessed by God? All the more, how can we judge that someone does not deserve God’s mercy because he is bad, as if we are so good and only we are good?

2. Second, Jesus called Matthew while he was sitting at his tax office. This may denote that God calls us at any time. His call may come to us, not only when we are immersed in prayer, but also when engaged in our daily routine, in our duties. So let us not wait to catch the voice and message of Jesus, not only in the quiet moments of prayer but all through our day, in everything we do.

3. Third, Jesus calls him, “Follow me”, and Matthew rose and followed him. This is very interesting. No conversation is reported. No discussion follows. No preparations have been made. It is as if Matthew is just waiting for Jesus to call him and then immediately follows him. No details are given.

4. The point is very clear: the promptness of Matthew’s response. Jesus’ call demands an immediate and unhesitating response. There are no calculations, no discussions, no sorting out the issues, no conditions, no assurances. No pre-plans or future ambitions. God’s call is without conditions, both on the part of God and on the part of the recipient.

5. Fourth, God calls not the righteous but the sinners. This is interesting because it makes being a sinner itself a qualification to be a follower of Christ. This does not, however, mean that only sinners become followers, or all the followers are sinners, or the good people will not be called.

6. The point is, our call is not on the basis of human merit. Even holiness is not a qualification! What one is before the call is not the matter, but what one becomes after the call is the real matter. One who is called by the Lord will not complacently cling to sin, but will strive to become righteous. A sinner becomes an apostle! A despised becomes venerated! A tax collector becomes a gatherer of souls and a witness to the Lord! One who sits at the tax office sits at the table with the Lord!

My Practice: Our call is a life to celebrate. Life becomes a celebration when the Lord is with us, and the Lord will be with us when we respond to his daily call, “Follow me”, and take him to our house, to serve him and then follow him in his footsteps