July 31, 2026
Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
Lectionary: 405
Reading 1
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim,
son of Josiah, king of Judah,
this message came from the LORD:
Thus says the LORD:
Stand in the court of the house of the LORD
and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah
who come to worship in the house of the LORD;
whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.
Perhaps they will listen and turn back,
each from his evil way,
so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them
for their evil deeds.
Say to them: Thus says the LORD:
If you disobey me,
not living according to the law I placed before you
and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets,
whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them,
I will treat this house like Shiloh,
and make this the city to which all the nations of the earth
shall refer when cursing another.Now the priests, the prophets, and all the
people
heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD.
When Jeremiah finished speaking
all that the LORD bade him speak to all the people,
the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying,
“You must be put to death!
Why do you prophesy in the name of the LORD:
‘This house shall be like Shiloh,’ and
‘This city shall be desolate and deserted’?”
And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (14c) Lord, in your great love,
answer me.
Those outnumber the hairs of my head
who hate me without cause.
Too many for my strength
are they who wrongfully are my enemies.
Must I restore what I did not steal?
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Since for your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
But I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever;
this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in
their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/073126.cfm
Friday
of Week 17 of Ordinary Time – First Reading
Commentary on
Jeremiah 26:1-9
Today’s reading from Jeremiah is in historical or
biographical form. Some believe these passages may come from the prophet
Baruch. It tells of Jeremiah’s discourse to the people warning them about
disasters which will come unless they change their ways. His message will not
be well received by the priests and people.
The scene takes place at the beginning of the reign of King
Jehoiakim of Judah. The Hebrew term indicates the beginning of his first
official (calendar) year as king, rather than the time of his immediate
succession. This places it in the year 609-608 BC. Jeremiah is told by Yahweh
to go to the temple court, perhaps near what was called the New Gate, and to
speak to all those who had come from the surrounding countryside of Judah to
worship. He is to say exactly what Yahweh has told him. Through his prophet,
Yahweh promises that, if they listen to Jeremiah and change their ways, he will
not bring disaster on them.
The Lord’s warning comes in the clearest language. If each
person listens and turns back from their evil ways, the Lord may repent of the
“disaster” he planned to inflict on them. On the other hand, if they will not
observe the Law and listen to the words of his prophet, the Temple will end up
like Shiloh, and the city of Jerusalem will become a curse word among the
nations of the earth.
Shiloh was an ancient shrine, which was now in ruins. The
sanctuary there was apparently destroyed by the Philistines. In the first book
of Samuel we read:
…Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his
home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty
thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured…
(1 Sam 4:10-11)
Jerusalem, says Yahweh, will meet the same fate.
Not surprisingly, this message did not go down well with
those who heard it. The priests and prophets seized Jeremiah and threatened him
with death. The phrase they used described the ultimate penalty for those who
seriously violated the law of Moses. The ‘prophets’ here are those false
prophets who gave upbeat prophecies, putting unrealistic hopes in the people’s
minds and glossing over their wrongdoings.
All were horrified and enraged that the Temple should become
deserted like Shiloh and the city. These were absolutely unthinkable ideas. How
could God allow such a thing to happen?
But it would, and very soon. And it would happen again about
40 years after the death of Jesus—never to recover. St Augustine had similar
feelings when he saw Rome (for him the centre of the world and its
civilisation) fall to the ‘barbarian’ invaders.
Once again we see the dangerous vocation of the prophet. He
is blessed with a special insight and he can see where the behaviour of people
is leading them. He gives warnings, but they fall on deaf ears. Even worse,
they are rejected and the prophet is seen as someone to be gotten rid of as an
enemy. But the prophet has no option but to continue speaking out.
What makes the matter more complex is that there will be
confusion between true and false prophets and often the beguiling messages of
the latter will be listened to. Careful discernment is needed to distinguish
the genuine prophet from those who either lull us into complacency or, on the
other hand, tell us that “the end of the world is nigh”.
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Commentary on
Matthew 13:54-58
Immediately following the discourse on the parables of the
Kingdom, we see Jesus going to his home town of Nazareth. The New
American Bible marks this as the beginning of a new section in
Matthew’s Gospel which it calls “Jesus, the Kingdom and the Church”. It ends
with chapter 18, which contains the fourth of the five discourses distinctive
to Matthew.
As was his right, Jesus spent some time teaching in the
synagogue at Nazareth. The townspeople were quite amazed to hear the local
carpenter’s son speaking as he did:
Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of
power?
The New International Version says that the
word usually translated “carpenter” could also mean “stonemason”. All his
family were well known to the people and they knew he could not have gotten it
from them (“Is not this the carpenter’s son?”), but they failed to apprehend
the real origin of what he was saying and doing.
And, in the contrariness of human nature, they were so
impressed that they rejected him! He was just too much. A perfect example of
familiarity breeding contempt and blinding the eyes to the obvious. And Jesus
sadly comments that a prophet can get a hearing everywhere except among his
own. Probably all of us have had some experience, directly or indirectly, of
this! We Irish, in particular, are well known for our ‘begrudgery’!
It might be helpful for us to see how often and where we
ourselves have been guilty of this sort of behavior. How often have we written
off what people we know very well, or think we know very well, suggest to us?
It is important for us to realise that God can communicate with us through
anyone at all, and we must never decide in advance who his spokespersons will
be.
Finally, we are told that Jesus could not do in Nazareth any
of the wonderful things he had done elsewhere “because of their unbelief”. His
hands were tied. Jesus can only help those who are ready to be helped, those
who are open to him. How open am I?
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Friday, July 31, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God our Father and protector, without you nothing is holy,
nothing has value. Guide us to everlasting life by helping us to use wisely the
blessings you have given to the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 13: 54-58
Coming to his hometown, Jesus taught the people in their
synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said, 'Where did the man
get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the carpenter's son,
surely? Is not his mother the woman called Mary, and his brothers James and
Joseph and Simon and Jude? His sisters, too, are they not all here with us? So
where did the man get it all?' And they would not accept him. But Jesus said to
them, 'A prophet is despised only in his own country and in his own house,' and
he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Reflection
The Gospel today tells us the visit of Jesus to Nazareth,
his native community. Passing through Nazareth was painful for Jesus. What was
his community at the beginning, now it is no longer so. Something has changed.
Where there is no faith, Jesus can work no miracles.
•
Matthew
13: 53-57a: The reaction of the people of Nazareth before Jesus. It is always
good for people to go back to their land. After a long absence, Jesus also
returns, as usual, on a Saturday, and he goes to the meeting of the community.
Jesus was not the head of the group, but just the same he speaks. This is a
sign that persons could participate and express their own opinion. People were
astonished. They did not understand Jesus’ attitude: "Where did the man
get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” Jesus, son of that place, whom
they knew since he was a child, how is that now he is so different? The people
of Nazareth were scandalized and do not accept him: “This is the carpenter’s
son, surely? The people do not accept the mystery of God present in a common
man as they are, as they had known Jesus. In order to speak about God he should
be different. As one can see, not everything was positive. The persons, who
should have been the first ones to accept the Good News, are the first ones to
refuse to accept it. The conflict is not only with foreigners, but also with
his relatives and with the people of Nazareth. They do not accept because they
cannot understand the mystery envelops Jesus: “Is not his mother, the woman
called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? And his
sisters too, are they not all here with us? So where did the man get it all?”
They are not able to believe.
•
Matthew
13: 57b-58: Reaction of Jesus before the attitude of the people of Nazareth.
Jesus knows very well that “no one is a prophet in his own country.” And he
says: A prophet is despised only in his own country and in his own house.” In
fact, where there is neither acceptance nor faith, people can do nothing. The
prejudice prevents it. Jesus himself, even wanting, can do nothing. He was
astonished before their lack of faith.
•
The
brothers and sisters of Jesus. The expression “brothers of Jesus” causes much
polemics between Catholics and Protestants. Basing themselves in this and in
other texts, the Protestants say that Jesus had many brothers and sisters, and
that Mary had more children! Catholics say that Mary did not have any other
children. What can we think about this? In the first place, both positions,
that of Catholics as well as that of Protestants, contain arguments taken from
the Bible and from the Tradition of their respective Churches. For this reason,
it is not convenient to discuss this question with arguments which are only
intellectual, because it is a question of profound convictions, which have
something to do with faith and with the sentiments of both and of each one. The
argument which is only intellectual cannot change a conviction of the heart! It
only irritates and draws away! Even if I do not agree with the opinion of
others, I must respect it. In the second place, instead of discussing around
texts, all of us, Catholics, and Protestants, should unite ourselves much more
to fight for the defense of life, created by God, a life so disfigured by
poverty, injustice, lack of faith. We should recall some other phrases of
Jesus. “I have come so that they may have life and life to the full” (Jn 10:
10). “That all may be one, so that the world may believe that you, Father, has
sent me” (Jn 17: 21). “Do not prevent them! Anyone who is not against us is for
us” (Mk 10: 39, 40)
Personal Questions
•
In
Jesus something changed in his relationship with the Community of Nazareth.
Since you began to participate in the community, has something changed in your
relationship with the family? Why?
•
Has
participation in the community helped you to accept and to trust persons, especially
the more simple and the poorest?
Concluding Prayer
For myself, wounded wretch that I am,
by your saving power raise me up!
I will praise God’s name in song, I
will extol him by thanksgiving. (Ps 69: 29-30)
Saint
Ignatius Loyola, Priest and Founder of the Society of Jesus
Ignatius of Loyola (original name Inigo), born in 1491, was
the youngest of eleven children of a Basque nobleman and was destined to become
a soldier. During a battle against the French he was wounded at the siege of
Pamplona in 1521. His broken leg was badly set and, very conscious of his
appearance, he insisted that it be broken again and re-set.
However, the surgery was not well done and Ignatius was left
with a limp for the rest of his life. During his long period of convalescence
he was not able to get books about the knightly romances he craved and had to
settle for a book about the life of Christ and stories of saints, the only
books available in the family castle. However, these books had a deep effect on
him, and the heroism he now dreamed of was that of saints like Francis of
Assisi and Dominic. He pledged his loyalty to the Mother of God by visiting her
shrine at the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat in Catalonia and then began a
year of prayer and penance in the cave at Manresa not far away. Here he
experienced both desolation and consolation and began to learn the causes for
each. This led to the compiling of his classic, the Spiritual Exercises. In
1523, he fulfilled a dream by making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, begging his way
like many before him. However, the Franciscans there persuaded him to give up
his intention of converting Muslims, and he returned to Spain without a clear
plan of what to do next.
He decided that he needed to do some studies if he was to be
an effective evangeliser. He began, at the age of 30, by sitting down with
schoolboys to learn Latin. He went on to Barcelona, Alcala, Salamanca and
finally to the University of Paris. In Paris he studied philosophy for three
years and graduated in 1534 as a master of arts. All this time he led a life of
austerity and, though still a layman, gave spiritual direction, especially to
women. In Spain he spent some time in prison, suspected of heresy.
As a student in Paris he gathered six disciples, to whom he
gave the Spiritual Exercises. They then made vows of poverty, chastity and
obedience at the Chapel of St Denis in Montmartre, promising to serve the
Church either by preaching the gospel in the Holy Land, or else at the
exclusive service of the pope. In 1537, they met in Venice, but were unable to
continue on to the Holy Land, so they went on to Rome to ask the pope to
recognise them as a religious community.
They were now all priests and had made an extra vow of
special obedience to the pope. Their main priorities were the education of the
young and going on missionary enterprises. They also were the first religious
congregation to drop the communal recitation of the Divine Office so as to
increase their freedom and mobility for apostolic works. In 1540, the new
congregation, with the name Society of Jesus, got papal approval. Ignatius was
unanimously, though against his will, elected as the first General and would
hold the post for the rest of his life.
He would also remain in Rome from where he directed the
works of the Society. Other works he personally was involved in were houses for
converted Jews and shelters for prostitutes. Given that so many members were scattered
to so many places and often working on their own, obedience to the aims of the
Society became very important for maintaining unity. It also explains the long
letters which members on the missions regularly sent back to Rome to report on
what they were doing. Among the most famous of these were the letters of St
Francis Xavier and of the missionaries working in China and North America.
A tighter organisation was also called for because of the
crisis situation caused in Europe by the Reformation. Peter Canisius was one of
the leaders of the Counter-Reformation, as were the many schools started by the
Society. In missionary work, Francis Xavier was the pioneer with an astonishing
career. He was followed by missionaries in India, China, Ethiopia, Latin America
and North America. Spiritual direction, which was to complete rather than
replace the work of parish priests, was undertaken by the Society. Ignatius,
who had been plagued by chronic stomach problems due to the austere excesses in
his younger years, died suddenly on 31 July, 1556. By then the Jesuits numbered
over 1,000 members in nine European provinces, besides those working in foreign
missions.
He was canonized with Francis Xavier on 12 March, 1622 and
declared Patron of Spiritual Exercises and Retreats by Pope Pius XI.
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