Daily Readings - Gospel for thursday, july 23, 2020. Pope Reflection

Daily Gospel - Readings for july 23, 2020.

Reading for thursday. Daily gospel

Jeremiah 2:1-3,7-8,12-13.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying, "Go and shout this in the hearing of Jerusalem: "The Lord says this: I remember the affection of your youth, the love of your bridal days: you followed me through the wilderness, through a land unsown. Israel was sacred to the Lord, the first-fruits of his harvest; anyone who ate of this had to pay for it, misfortune came to them, it is the Lord who speaks." "I brought you to a fertile country to enjoy its produce and good things; but no sooner had you entered than you defiled my land, and made my heritage detestable. The priests have never asked, "Where is the Lord?" Those who administer the Law have no knowledge of me. The shepherds have rebelled against me; the prophets have prophesied in the name of Baal, following things with no power in them. "You heavens, stand aghast at this, stand stupefied, stand utterly appalled, it is the Lord who speaks. Since my people have committed a double crime: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, only to dig cisterns for themselves, leaky cisterns that hold no water."

Daily Psalm for thursday.

Psalm 35(36):6-11.

"In you, Lord, is the source of life." (R).

Your love, Lord, reaches to heaven; your truth to the skies. Your justice is like God’s mountain, your judgements like the deep. (R).

O Lord, how precious is your love. My God, the sons of men find refuge in the shelter of your wings. They feast on the riches of your house; they drink from the stream of your delight. (R).

In you is the source of life and in your light we see light. Keep on loving those who know you, doing justice for upright hearts. (R).

Daily Gospel Acclamation.

"Alleluia, alleluia! Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord. Alleluia!" (Cfr. Psalm 94:8)

Daily Gospel for july 23. Matthew 13:10-17.

Daily Gospel reading for thursday, july 23 (Many wanted to see that you saw it): "At that time, The disciples went up to Jesus and asked, "Why do you talk to them in parables?" "Because" he replied, "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.
"But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.".

Daily Gospel reflection by Pope Benedict XVI.

"The true "Parable" of God is Jesus himself"

In the reading of the daily Gospel, (Mt 13:10-17), Jesus had addressed the crowd with the famous parable of the sower. It is a page that is somehow "autobiographical", because it reflects the very experience of Jesus, of his preaching: He identifies himself with the sower, who sows the good seed of the Word of God, and perceives the various effects he obtains, according to the type of reception reserved for the proclamation. There are those who listen superficially to the word but do not welcome it; there are those who welcome it in the moment but are not aware of it and lose everything; there are those who are overwhelmed by the worries and seductions of the world; and there are those who listen receptively like the good soil: here the word bears fruit in abundance.

But this Gospel also insists on the method of Jesus´ preaching, that is, precisely, on the use of parables. "Why do you speak to them in parables", the disciples ask (Matthew 13:10). And Jesus answers by making a distinction between them and the crowd: to the disciples, that is, to those who have already decided for him, he can speak openly about the Kingdom of God, while to the others he must announce it in parables, to stimulate precisely the decision, the conversion of heart; the parables, in fact, by their nature require an effort of interpretation, they challenge the intelligence but also freedom.

St. John Chrysostom explains: "Jesus spoke these words with the intention of attracting his listeners to himself and of asking them, assuring them that, if they turn to him, he will heal them" (Commentary on Matthew´s Gospel,45,1-2).

In the end, the true "Parable" of God is Jesus himself, his Person, who, in the sign of humanity, hides and at the same time reveals divinity. In this way God does not force us to believe in him, but he draws us to himself with the truth and goodness of his incarnate Son: love, in fact, always respects freedom. (Reflection on today´s Gospel, Angelus, July 10, 2011)

Daily Gospel Prayer.

Lord, today I am filled with faith and trust in that father figure with whom you present yourself, to strengthen me as a son and to know how to say NO to all those who cause me anguish and despair. I say NO to all those bad inclinations that weaken the soul and break my bond of love with You. Come into my life, Holy Spirit, help me reflect that it is You who dwell in me and fill me with joy. (Healing with prayer daily gospel)

The Pope´s daily quotation.

"God is waiting for us: he doesn´t get tired, he doesn´t get discouraged. Because it is us, each one of us, the son who embraces again, that coin found, that sheep caressed and put on his shoulders (cf. Lk 15:1-32)". (Pope Francis, 9.15.2019)

Daily porpose.

The Psalms have always been a word of refuge in times of crisis. Let us pray with Psalm 23 for God´s guidance in these hard times we are going through.

🎧 Video of the daily Gospel.

Enjoy now the video meditation for thursday, for the daily Gospel july 23, 2020. Matthew 13:10-17. 16th Week in Ordinary Time.

Map of readings for the day.

• Initial readings

• Daily Gospel Readings

• Pope reflection

• Daily Gospel Prayer

• Daily Gospel Purpose

• Video meditation for the Gospel

Daily Gospel Intentions for july 23.

With the readings daily Gospel, let us pray for all those prayer intentions for today, thursday, that you wish to express. When you meditate on the daily readings, you deepen your personal relationship with God and grow in love. Write down in the commentaries all that you want God to give you or heal you through the reading of his Word in the daily Gospel for july 23, 2020. God Bless you.