11 August 2025 (Monday)
Saint Clare, Virgin on Monday of week 19 in Ordinary Time.
Saint Clare, Virgin, Religious Founder Obligatory Memorial.
Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:
First Reading : Deuteronomy 10:12‐22
Moses said to the people: ‘Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you? Only this: to fear the Lord your God, to follow all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and laws of the Lord that for your good I lay down for you today. ‘To the Lord your God belong indeed heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth and all it contains; yet it was on your fathers that the Lord set his heart for love of them, and after them of all the nations chose their descendants, you yourselves, up to the present day. Circumcise your heart then and be obstinate no longer; for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, triumphant and terrible, never partial, never to be bribed. It is he who sees justice done for the orphan and the widow, who loves the stranger and gives him food and clothing. Love the stranger then, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. It is the Lord your God you must fear and serve; you must cling to him; in his name take your oaths. He it is you must praise, he is your God: for you he has done these great and terrible things you have seen with your own eyes; and though your fathers numbered only seventy when they went down to Egypt, the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars of heaven.’
Responsive Psalm : Psalm 147:12‐15,19‐20
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God! He has strengthened the bars of your gates he has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders, he feeds you with finest wheat. He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command.
He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees.
Gospel : Matthew 17:22‐27
One day when they were together in Galilee, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men; they will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised to life again.’ And a great sadness came over them. When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the half‐shekel came to Peter and said, ‘Does your master not pay the half‐shekel?’ ‘Oh yes’ he replied, and went into the house. But before he could speak, Jesus said, ‘Simon, what is your opinion? From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from foreigners?’ And when he replied, ‘From foreigners’, Jesus said, ‘Well then, the sons are exempt. However, so as not to offend these people, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that bites, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for me and for you.’
For our reflection today:
Evangelical preaching comes from gratuitousness, from the wonder of the salvation that comes; and what I have received freely, I must give freely. And from the beginning, it was like this. Saint Peter didn’t have a bank account, and when he had to pay taxes, the Lord sent him to the sea to catch a fish and find the coin inside the fish to pay. Everything is grace. Everything. And what are the signs that an apostle lives this gratuity? First, poverty. The proclamation of the Gospel must walk the path of poverty. The testimony of this poverty: I have no riches, my only wealth is the gift I have received—God. This gratuitousness: this is our wealth! And this poverty saves us from becoming organizers, businessmen. The works of the Church must be carried out, and some are a bit complex; but with a heart of poverty, not with the heart of an investor or businessman, no? When we find apostles who want to make the Church rich, without the gratuitousness of praise, the Church grows old, the Church becomes an NGO, the Church has no life. Let us ask the Lord today for the grace to recognize this gratuitousness: “Freely you have received, freely give.” To recognize this gratuitousness, that gift of God. And also, for us to continue the evangelical preaching with this gratuitousness. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 11 June 2013)
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