Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection July 01, 2026
Wednesday – 13th Week in Ordinary Time
01st July 2026 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 1
Here are the Catholic Mass readings and a daily reflection for Wednesday, July 1, 2026, an ordinary weekday with the memorial of Saint Junípero Serra. Today Amos warns that God rejects worship that ignores people, and in the Gospel a town meets the living God and asks Him to go.
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Amos 5:14-15, 21-24
Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. “I hate, I despise your feasts,” says the Lord, “and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Psalm 50:7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16bc-17
R/. To one whose way is blameless, I will show the salvation of God.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Matthew 8:28-34
At that time: When Jesus came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region
Daily Gospel Reflection
Wednesday – 13th Week in Ordinary Time
Main Point: Two violent men are set free. The whole town comes out to see. Then they beg Jesus to go. He had crossed the sea to reach them, and they sent Him away over the price of some pigs.
1. There was a place people avoided. Two men lived there, among the tombs. They were so wild that no one could pass that road. They lived among the dead, and everyone had given up on them.
2. Jesus crosses the sea and steps onto their shore. Think about where He goes. Straight to the place everyone else stayed away from. He comes looking for the two men no one could reach.
3. The demons see Him and beg. Hold on to that word. They beg to be sent into a herd of pigs nearby. Jesus says one word. “Go.” In an instant the men are free. Clothed. Calm. Themselves again.
4. The pigs rush down the slope and drown in the sea. The men who tended them run to the town. The whole city comes pouring out to see what happened.
5. Here is the turn. Two men no one could save are now saved. You would expect joy. Instead the town looks at Jesus and begs Him to leave. And the Gospel uses the same word twice. The demons begged Him. Now the town begs Him. Both want the same thing. Get Him away from here.
6. Why would they want that? The Gospel says it plainly. The pigs. They counted the cost. Two restored men were not worth one lost herd. They would rather keep their property than keep the Lord. So they chose the pigs.
7. Now the hardest line in the story. Jesus goes. He does not argue. He does not force His way in. He gets back in the boat and leaves. They asked Him to go, and He went. God will not stay where He is not wanted.
8. This is the thread to Amos. God says, I hate your feasts. I will not listen to your songs. Let justice roll down like water. Worship is worthless if a person counts for less than profit. The town proved Amos right. They had God on their beach, and they sent Him off to save their money.
My Practice: Where do you quietly ask Jesus to leave? Find the pigs. The thing you would rather keep than hand over. The arrangement His presence would cost you. The town chose the herd and lost the Lord, and He did not stay to plead. Saint Junípero Serra crossed an ocean to carry Christ to strangers who did not know Him. These people had Christ on their shore and waved Him off. Do not send Him back to the boat. Name the price you are afraid He will ask, and let Him land anyway.
Read tomorrow’s Catholic Mass readings and reflection for July 2, 2026, or revisit yesterday’s reflection for Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time.
Thank You 🙏🙏🙏
