Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection July 31, 2025
Thursday – 17th Week in Ordinary Time
31st July 2025 (Thursday)
Psalter: Week 1
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38
In those days: Moses did according to all that the Lord commanded him. In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.
Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6a, and 8a, 11 (R. 2)
R/. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Open our hearts, O Lord, that we may pay attention to the words of your Son.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Matthew 13:47-53
At that time: Jesus said to the crowds, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Thursday – 17th Week in Ordinary Time
Main Point: Life is like a fishing net that catches all sorts of fish, but it needs a spirit of discernment to distinguish between the good and the bad fish and to retain the good and discard the bad
1. A good fisherman knows to sift between good fish and bad fish, which to retain and which to throw away. A good householder knows to produce from his store both new and old things. Similarly, we are also exposed to good and bad, new and old.
2. Like true disciples, we should distinguish between them and discern what to retain and what to refrain. We cannot confuse ourselves and fail to make the right choices at the right time. Often lack of clarity of priorities and lack of the will to act upon them, makes life a mess and loss.
3. Every bright choice is not a right choice. A right choice is not necessarily what brings success or profit but which wins God’s benevolent judgment. Many are devoid of this gift of wisdom and consequently make an unnecessary accumulation of all the stuff, even the trash and rubbish that is harmful.
4. And some others, being misled, accept and swallow eagerly whatever is detestable and despise whatever is honourable. This can happen in the name of modernism and freedom. One should realise that all that is modern need not be right and beneficial. Besides, freedom is not self-indulgence and arrogance.
5. St Ignatius did this wise discernment. He discerned between service to the world and the service of God, between allegiance to the nation as a soldier and loyalty to heaven our homeland, between earthly gains and the eternal reward. He made a total about-turn of his life and turned the lives of numberless as well.
My Practice: Many a time the modern age suffers from a heightened spirit of greed and freedom. This loses discernment and leads to accumulation and arrogance and licentiousness. Only a spirit of docility and surrender can be the right remedies.
