Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection July 10, 2025
Thursday – 14th Week in Ordinary Time
10th July 2025 (Thursday)
Psalter: Week 2
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Genesis 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5
In those days: Judah went up to Joseph and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him. Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’ “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’ we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’ Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Psalm 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21 (R. 5a)
R/. Remember the wonders the Lord has done.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Matthew 10:7-15
At that time: Jesus said to his apostles, “Proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Thursday – 14th Week in Ordinary Time
Main Point: God is always on a relentless mission of transforming our lives and working for our good. At times, his plans and ways are hard and distressing but they will reap rich results
1. God never ceases to love us and work for our benefit. At times, the ways of God look very mysterious and even upsetting. The story of Joseph in Genesis in the first reading of these days is a clear example of His disconcerting and confusing ways. So much injustice was done to Joseph. He was sold into slavery in Egypt. But God raised him to the dignity of a governor. It was God’s way of sending him before his brothers so that he would rescue them from famine. In other words, God already sent Joseph on a specific mission of saving many lives during famine.
2. In the gospel too, Jesus is entrusting a mission to his disciples. In simple it is his mission. It is to establish God’s kingdom as he did. It is a twofold mission, namely to preach and heal. But he does not send them empty-handed. He equips them with his power.
3. Therefore, they need not bother too much about worldly equipment like gold, silver, copper, bags or tunics or sandals or staff. They should be detached from worldly abundance and accumulation. They should retrench themselves from depending excessively on worldly securities and guarantees. On the other hand, they should be generous in giving their life, time and all energies, because they too received so generously from God.
4. They should remember that it is a peace mission. They should be peace lovers, peace-witnesses and peace-promoters. Any words and acts that cultivate seeds of disunity and antagonism, that lack devotion and goodness, are only a counter-mission and counter-productive.
5. Further, in carrying out this mission, working for God and promoting good alone should be our end targets and aims. There should be no other motive, even the motive of success. We should be prepared even to face failure.
6. That is why Jesus already warns: “If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town”. This indicates that we must be detached even from the expectation of fruits and results. Sheer focus on mission and dutifulness irrespective of the effects are our driving forces.
My Practice: Often mission suffers because there are lots of ego issues. There should not be any seeking of self-glory which leads to ego clashes and ego hurts. Instead, let all the life and mission be God-oriented.
