This week’s Gospel message for Sunday, July 31st is from Luke 12:13-21.
“Then [Jesus] said to the crowd, ‘Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.’”
“We try to control our life in every way. We tend to labor under the illusion that we can control our future. Financial success reinforces that illusion. What we hoard can be lost in a heartbeat. What we give away will go on. In a consumer-oriented society such as ours, the lesson from today’s readings is countercultural. We are challenged to reject the idea that money brings happiness or at least makes it easier to achieve. We are encouraged to build wealth instead in what matters to God.” SOURCE: Pastoral Patterns, Summer 2022
DAILY READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday Jeremiah 28:1-17; Matthew 14:13-21
Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Memorial) – “Saint Alphonsus Liguori was a lawyer and later decided to become a priest and later became a bishop. He founded an order of missionary priests that became the Redemptorists. He was widely sought as a preacher and confessor, and his famous book Moral Theology linked his keen legal mind with his kindness and concern for others.”
Tuesday Jeremiah 30:1-2, 2-15, 18-22; Matthew 14:22-36
Wednesday Jeremiah 31:1-7; Matthew 15:21-28
Thursday Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 16:13-23
Saint John Vianney, Priest (Memorial) – “He was renowned as a confessor that hundreds visited daily. He heard confessions for twelve to sixteen hours a day and gave a short lesson each morning.”
Friday Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7; Matthew 16:24-28
Saturday Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Luke 9:28b-36
The Transfiguration of the Lord (Feast) – “The transfiguration has been observed on this day by the universal Church since the fifteenth century. May we remember that our own lives can be changed by God’s power to give new life.” SOURCE: Living With Christ, August 2022
“The first thing about the angels
that we ought to imitate
is their consciousness of the Presence of God.”
—Saint John Vianney