Gospel: July 11, 2025
July 11, 2025 (Friday)
14th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 2 / (White)
St. Benedict, abbot
Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
1st Reading: Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30
Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23
Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves. You must be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of me, so that you may witness to them and the pagans. But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father, speaking through you. Brother will hand over his brother to death, and father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, you will not have passed through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Reflection:
“Purity of heart in our prayer.”
“Whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.” Today’s Gospel presents us with the message that we are to persevere in trials, trusting in God’s guidance through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Saint Benedict teaches that perseverance in trials is evidence that the desire for God is genuine. In his Rule, Saint Benedict directs that someone wishing to join the monastery should not be admitted swiftly, but only after a time, so that the aspirant’s persistence in the face of challenge will show that the longing for God is true.
Therefore, “standing firm” becomes the acid test of genuine faith. Saint Benedict combines this line from Matthew’s Gospel with Psalm 27:14, encouraging us to take courage and to hope in the Lord. In other words, the difficulties we face are not meant to discourage us, but to encourage us in recognizing our need for the Lord. Saint Benedict also calls us to a “purity of heart” in our prayer, since God listens to a humble and pure heart. So, we are to be like doves, but also alert to dangers. Thus, like the snake, we are to be wise and astute in negotiating the temptations of the world.
