Daily Mass Readings for Saturday, 12 August 2023
First Reading: Deuteronomy 6: 4-13
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 18: 2-3a, 3c-4, 47 and 51
Alleluia: Second Timothy 1: 10
Gospel: Matthew 17: 14-20
Saturday, 12 August 2023
First Reading
Deuteronomy 6: 4-13
Moses said to the people:
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.
Drill them into your children.
Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.
Bind them at your wrist as a sign
and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.
Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
"When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which he swore
to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
that he would give you,
a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,
with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner,
with cisterns that you did not dig,
with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant;
and when, therefore, you eat your fill,
take care not to forget the LORD,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
The LORD, your God, shall you fear;
him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51
I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim!
And I am safe from my enemies.
I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD live! And blessed be my Rock!
Extolled be God my savior!
You who gave great victories to your king,
and showed kindness to your anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.
I love you, Lord, my strength.
Alleluia
See 2 Tm 1:10
Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mt 17:14-20
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said,
"Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;
often he falls into fire, and often into water.
I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."
Jesus said in reply,
"O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you?
Bring the boy here to me."
Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,
and from that hour the boy was cured.
Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,
"Why could we not drive it out?"
He said to them, "Because of your little faith.
Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you."
Todays Reflection
Unimaginable
Jesus was asked to cure his son, who was possessed by a demon. Jesus' disciples tried to cast the demon out, but Jesus' initial response was "o faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?" However, Jesus cast the demon out, emphasizing the importance of having a more pure faith.
Faith is a response to God's will and is not just believing in something so strongly that we try to will it to happen. If God truly wanted a mountain to be uprooted and moved, if we listened to His Voice and responded with complete trust, it would happen. However, the glory of God is not fulfilled by moving a literal mountain, so it is unlikely that this would ever be done through the gift of faith.
Moving mountains is a figurative and spiritual level all the time. God works in our lives in a supernatural way, and being used to work in another's life in a supernatural way is much more glorious than moving a mountain. From an eternal perspective, what is more glorious and giving God greater glory? To be changed by grace and be interiorly transformed by God to give Him eternal glory?
Reflect on the importance of listening to the Voice of God and responding with complete obedience and love. This is faith. As you do, God will not only do unimaginable things in your life but also through you, doing unimaginable things in the lives of others.
In this passage, Jesus asks for the gift of faith to help us listen to God's voice and respond with generosity and belief. He also urges us to become an instrument of His unimaginable grace in the lives of others.
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