Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time
01st July 2024 (Monday)
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Amos 2:6-10, 13-16
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you for forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. “Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down. Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life; he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life; and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day,” declares the Lord.
Psalm 50:16bc-17, 18-20, 21, 22-23 (R. 22a)
R/. Mark this, you who are forgetful of God
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Today, harden not your hearts, but listen to the voice of the Lord.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 8:18-22
At that time: When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Monday – Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: “Follow me!” is an unceasing call of the Lord. It needs a positive response and a responsive way of life
1. In the gospel, there are two aspirants to follow the Lord. They have the desire to follow him. But they lack the sense of priority and the right motive. Jesus and his mission are not their priorities. The first one fails to follow Jesus because he is not ready to take up Jesus’ way of life without worldly securities and guarantees. The second one fails because he is still bound to his family attachments.
2. The first reading from the prophet Amos also makes it clear how Israel failed to follow the true God. They turned unmindful and ungrateful concerning the mighty works of God, especially in their difficult times. They became unfaithful by abandoning Him, the true God. They profaned His holy places and things. They went astray to the worship of false gods. Besides they were also engrossed in immorality and injustice.
3. The failure to follow the Lord’s way will have disastrous consequences. Human resources would fail. Human capacities would diminish. Frustration and destruction will be the end result. This is not to be seen as revenge or punishment. It is the fruit of one’s estrangement from God. Every failure to be responsive to God’s constant call and to be responsible to follow the right path of God will certainly bring forth unpleasant and painful effects.
Practice: Here is an invitation for each one of us to examine our own response to the call of the Lord. Do we hearken to his call, “Follow me!”? Do we also become unmindful, ungrateful, and unfaithful toward the Lord?
