Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection July 22, 2025
Tuesday – 16th Week in Ordinary Time
22nd July 2025 (Tuesday)
Psalter: Week 4
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Song of Solomon 3:1-4ab
The bride responds: On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” Scarcely had 1 passed them when I found him whom my soul loves.
Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (R. see 2b)
R/. For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Tell us Mary, what did you see on the way? I saw the glory of the risen Christ, I saw his empty tomb.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: John 20:1-2, 11-18
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”Having said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jésus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”- and that he had said these things to her.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Tuesday – 16th Week in Ordinary Time
Main Point: Seek and you will find. But you can seek if only you love what you seek. And you can love what you seek, if only you realize the value of what you love. And you can know the value of what you love, if only you personally experience the value of it
1. Today we celebrate the feast day of St Mary Magdalene. She stands as an icon of the lover, depicted in the Song of songs. She loves the beloved. And she seeks him. Mary Magdalene too loves the Lord passionately as her most beloved. She feels totally united with him and intimate to him. She cannot bear any separation from him.
2. But with Jesus’ death, there was an irredeemable distancing. She misses him terribly. So she suffers excruciating pain and anguish. She weeps bitterly. She begins to search for him. She finds him. She is consoled. She is strengthened. She is renewed because she is charged with a new mission. She shares her personal experience with others. She becomes a living and convincing witness for the Lord.
3. Mary Magdalene can be a great teacher and guide for all of us. The greatest lesson for us is: Love him and seek him. This is the power charge of our whole life. Then, find him and bear witness to him. This is the power discharging through our mission. Those who love and seek him will surely find and witness him.
4. But, there is a process, and this does not happen all of a sudden. That is, healing by the Lord, turning to him, keeping close to him, following him in his footsteps, serving him in ministry, accompanying and walking with him on the way of the cross, standing near the cross, sharing in his agony and abandonment, and nurturing an undying love even after death.
5. In fact, these are the concrete ways and expressions of our loving him and seeking him. Do I love and seek him? Then, do I also allow the Lord to expel the seven demons from me like Mary Magdalene, maybe, symbolising the seven capital sins?
6. Do I make an about turn, a change over, a shift in my life to the Lord, away from evil? Do I keep close to him? Do I follow in his footsteps? Do I serve him in ministry here and now through small acts of service and support to the community and others as Mary Magdalene did?
7. Do I have the courage and the loyalty to walk the way of the cross? Do I persevere till the end to stand near the cross on Calvary? Can I share the same anguish and thirst of the Lord? Do I miss him deeply? Do I seek him anxiously? Can I weep for him because I cannot bear the separation from him?
8. Can I also encounter the risen and living Jesus even among the tomb experiences? Do I also shoulder the responsibility of bearing witness to the Lord? Can I say “I have seen the Lord” like Mary Magdalene?
My Practice: The whole journey and project of our life may be synthesized in four words: Love, seek, find and witness the Lord. And two vital questions can help us in this direction: “Why am I weeping?” and “What and whom do I seek?”
