26 June 2025 (Thursday)
Thursday of week 12 in Ordinary Time.
Ordinary Weekday.
Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:
First Reading : Genesis 16:1‐12,15‐16
Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no child, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, ‘Listen, now! Since the Lord has kept me from having children, go to my slave‐girl. Perhaps I shall get children through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai had said. Thus after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years Sarai took Hagar her Egyptian slave‐girl and gave her to Abram as his wife. He went to Hagar and she conceived. And once she knew she had conceived, her mistress counted for nothing in her eyes. Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘May this insult to me come home to you! It was I who put my slave‐girl into your arms but now she knows that she has conceived, I count for nothing in her eyes. Let the Lord judge between me and you.’ ‘Very well,’ Abram said to Sarai ‘your slave‐girl is at your disposal. Treat her as you think fit.’ Sarai accordingly treated her so badly that she ran away from her. The angel of the Lord met her near a spring in the wilderness, the spring that is on the road to Shur. He said, ‘Hagar, slave‐girl of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ ‘I am running away from my mistress Sarai’ she replied. The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘I will make your descendants too numerous to be counted.’ Then the angel of the Lord said to her: ‘Now you have conceived, and you will bear a son, and you shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cries of distress. A wild‐ass of a man he will be, against every man, and every man against him, setting himself to defy all his brothers.’ Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave to the son that Hagar bore the name Ishmael. Abram was eighty‐six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Responsive Psalm : Psalm 105(106):1‐5
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his love endures for ever. Who can tell the Lord’s mighty deeds? Who can recount all his praise?
They are happy who do what is right, who at all times do what is just. O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
Come to me, Lord, with your help that I may see the joy of your chosen ones and may rejoice in the gladness of your nation and share the glory of your people.
Gospel : Matthew 7:21‐29
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men! ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!’ Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own scribes.
For our reflection today:
In today’s society we are living in a situation that in some ways is precarious, marked by insecurity and the fragmentary nature of decisions. Valid reference points in which to find inspiration for one’s own life are frequently lacking. Thus it is becoming ever more important to build life and the complex of social relations on the firm rock of the Word of God, letting oneself be guided by the Magisterium of the Church. We understand ever better the crucial value of Jesus’ affirmation who says: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Mt 7:24-25). The Lord is with us, he acts with the power of his Spirit. (Pope Benedict XVI, Renewal in the Spirit 26 May 2012)
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