31 July 2025 (Thursday)
Saint Ignatius Loyola, Priest on Thursday of week 17 in Ordinary Time.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest, Religious Founder Obligatory Memorial.
Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:
First Reading : Exodus 40:16‐21,34‐38
Moses did exactly as the Lord had directed him. The tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. Moses erected the tabernacle. He fixed the sockets for it, put up its frames, put its crossbars in position, set up its posts. He spread the tent over the tabernacle and on top of this the covering for the tent, as the Lord had directed Moses. He took the Testimony and placed it inside the ark. He set the shafts to the ark and placed the throne of mercy on it. He brought the ark into the tabernacle and put the screening veil in place; thus he screened the ark of the Lord, as the Lord had directed Moses. The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the cloud that rested on it and because of the glory of the Lord that filled the tabernacle. At every stage of their journey, whenever the cloud rose from the tabernacle the sons of Israel would resume their march. If the cloud did not rise, they waited and would not march until it did. For the cloud of the Lord rested on the tabernacle by day, and a fire shone within the cloud by night, for all the House of Israel to see. And so it was for every stage of their journey.
Responsive Psalm : Psalm 83(84):3‐6,8,11
How lovely is your dwelling‐place, Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning, is yearning for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my soul ring out their joy to God, the living God.
How lovely is your dwelling‐place, Lord, God of hosts.
The sparrow herself finds a home and the swallow a nest for her brood; she lays her young by your altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
How lovely is your dwelling‐place, Lord, God of hosts.
They are happy, who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise. They walk with ever‐growing strength, they will see the God of gods in Zion.
How lovely is your dwelling‐place, Lord, God of hosts.
One day within your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. The threshold of the house of God. I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.
How lovely is your dwelling‐place, Lord, God of hosts.
Gospel : Matthew 13:47‐53
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. ‘Have you understood all this?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.’ When Jesus had finished these parables he left the district.
For our reflection today:
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of discernment with images taken from ordinary life ; for example, he describes the fishers who select the good fish and discard the bad ones; or the merchant who knows how to identify, among many pearls, the one of greatest value. Or he who, ploughing a field, comes across something that turns out to be a treasure (cf. Mt 13:44-48). In the final judgement God will exercise discernment, the great discernment, with regard to us. The images of the farmer, the fisherman, and the merchant are examples of what happens in the Kingdom of Heaven, a Kingdom that manifests itself in the ordinary actions of life, which require us to take a stand. This is why it is so important to be able to discern: great choices can arise from circumstances that at first sight seem secondary, but turn out to be decisive. For example, let us think of Andrew and John’s first encounter with Jesus, an encounter that stems from a simple question: “Rabbi, where do you live?”, “Come and see”, says Jesus (cf. Jn 1:38-39). A very brief exchange, but it is the beginning of a change that, step by step, will mark their whole life. Years later, the Evangelist will continue to remember that encounter that changed him forever, and he will even remember the time: ‘It was about four o’clock in the afternoon’ (v. 39). It is the hour when time and the eternal met in his life. And in a good decision, correct, there is an encounter between God’s will and our will; there is an encounter between the present path and the eternal. Making the right decision, after a path of discernment, is to make this encounter: time with eternity. (Pope Francis, General Audience, 31 August 2022)
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