2 August 2025 (Saturday) / Saturday of week 17 in Ordinary Time or Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop or Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Ordinary Weekday/ Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary/ Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop/ Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest

2 August 2025 (Saturday)

Saturday of week 17 in Ordinary Time or Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop or Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Ordinary Weekday/ Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary/ Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop/ Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Leviticus 25: 1, 8-17

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 7-8

Alleluia: Matthew 5: 10

Gospel: Matthew 14: 1-12

First Reading : Leviticus 25:1,8‐17

The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. He said: ‘You are to count seven weeks of years – seven times seven years, that is to say a period of seven weeks of years, forty‐nine years. And on the tenth day of the seventh month you shall sound the trumpet; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout the land. You will declare this fiftieth year sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the inhabitants of the land. This is to be a jubilee for you; each of you will return to his ancestral home, each to his own clan. This fiftieth year is to be a jubilee year for you: you will not sow, you will not harvest the ungathered corn, you will not gather from the untrimmed vine. The jubilee is to be a holy thing to you, you will eat what comes from the fields. ‘In this year of jubilee each of you is to return to his ancestral home. If you buy or sell with your neighbour, let no one wrong his brother. If you buy from your neighbour, this must take into account the number of years since the jubilee: according to the number of productive years he will fix the price. The greater the number of years, the higher shall be the price demanded; the less the number of years, the greater the reduction; for what he is selling you is a certain number of harvests. Let none of you wrong his neighbour, but fear your God; I am the Lord your God.’

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 66(67):2‐3,5,7‐8

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.

O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us. So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help.

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule the world with justice. With fairness you rule the peoples, you guide the nations on earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its fruit for God, our God, has blessed us. May God still give us his blessing till the ends of the earth revere him.

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.

Alleluia: Matthew 5: 10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

10 Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(10. Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs).

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Matthew 14:1‐12

Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus, and said to his court, ‘This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Now it was Herod who had arrested John, chained him up and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had told him, ‘It is against the Law for you to have her.’ He had wanted to kill him but was afraid of the people, who regarded John as a prophet. Then, during the celebrations for Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so delighted Herod that he promised on oath to give her anything she asked. Prompted by her mother she said, ‘Give me John the Baptist’s head, here, on a dish.’ The king was distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he ordered it to be given her, and sent and had John beheaded in the prison. The head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went off to tell Jesus.

For our reflection today:

The martyrdom of St John the Baptist reminds us too, Christians of this time, that with love for Christ, for his words and for the Truth, we cannot stoop to compromises. The Truth is Truth; there are no compromises. Christian life demands, so to speak, the “martyrdom” of daily fidelity to the Gospel, the courage, that is, to let Christ grow within us and let him be the One who guides our thought and our actions. However, this can happen in our life only if we have a solid relationship with God. Prayer is not time wasted, it does not take away time from our activities, even apostolic activities, but exactly the opposite is true: only if we are able to have a faithful, constant and trusting life of prayer will God himself give us the ability and strength to live happily and serenely, to surmount difficulties and to witness courageously to him. St John the Baptist, intercede for us, that we may be ever able to preserve the primacy of God in our life. (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, Castel Gandolfo, 29 August 2012)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant, 

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)