***N.B.*** Click here for Daily Readings and Homily Resources from Mon 6 July to Fri 10 July 2026 (link between Homepage Calendar and Weekday Homily Resources broken, apologies for any inconvenience)
Monday of Week 14 – 06 July 2026
Optional Memorials: St Maria Goretti 1890-1902, stabbed to death in defence of her virtue; St Moninne of Killeavy, one of Ireland’s earliest saints who founded a community at Sliabh Gullion, Co Armagh, living an eremitical life based on Elijah and St John the Baptist. Moninne died in 517/8
1st Reading: Hosea 2:16-18, 21-22
Israel will again show loving fidelity to her God
On that day, says the Lord, you will call me, “My husband.” For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more.
I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety.
On that day I will answer, says the Lord, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth; and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer ‘Jezreel.’
Responsorial: from Psalm 145
R./: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
I will bless you day after day,
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
his greatness cannot be measured. (R./)
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendour of your glorious majesty
and tell of your marvellous works. (R./)
They will speak of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness and might.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice. (R./)
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The Lord is good to all
and compassionate toward all his creatures. (R./)
Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26
Jesus cures a woman’s haemorrhage and raises the daughter of Jairus
While Jesus was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.
Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.
When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this sprad throughout that district.
Problems in the Family
Family problems can be heart-wrenching but can also be the trigger for personal growth, as in today’s readings. The repeated infidelities of Hosea’s wife triggered an emotional explosion in the prophet’s heart; and Jesus is confronted with a family tragedy, the death of the synagogue leader’s young daughter.
True religion rooted in normal everyday existence, and it can help to bring healing to disputes and even serious family problems. The prophet Hosea is caught up in a marital scandal. Not only has his wife been unfaithful, but he is not even sure of the paternity of two of the family’s three children. Only the first, a son, was really born to him (Hos 1:6, 8). Yet he finds it in his heart to forgive his straying wife, to mirror the compassion of God towards his sinful people.
Jesus takes the risk of made religiously unclean and being barred from entering the synagogue or temple; he let himself be touched by a woman with a flow of blood and then he takes a dead child by the hand (Lev 15:19-33; 21:1). There must have been in him a great sense of iner freedom, an overwhelming compassion, a decisive urge to help the needy, so that the “unclean” could presume to touch him and request him to touch them. Through all these examples we detect a wholesome way to live our religion according to the over-riding norm of loving concern for other.
The fringe of his garment
In today’s gospel Jesus is approached by two people who were very different in personality and social status. One was a synagogue official, who had a recognized and important religious role within the community. The other was a woman who suffered from a flow of blood, and who, in virtue of that condition, would have been considered ritually unclean, and, therefore, excluded from the synagogue. Not only were these two people at opposite ends of the religious spectrum of the time, but the way they approach Jesus is very different. The official comes up to him very publicly, bowing low in front of him. The woman secretly touches the fringe of Jesus’ cloak, not wanting to be noticed. In spite of their different standing within the community and their different approaches to Jesus, what they had in common was their great faith in Jesus and in his saving power. Jesus responds equally generously to both of these people, healing the official’s daughter and healing the woman of her condition. The gospel suggests that what matters to the Lord is not our standing in the community or how we approach him, how we pray, but the strength of our faith in him, the quality of our relationship with him. According to the opening line of today’s first reading, the Lord lured the people of Israel into the wilderness to speak to their heart. The Lord speaks to the heart of all of us who approach him and he always responds to our plea for help..
Tuesday of Week 14 – 07 July 2026
Optional Memorial: St Maelruain (Maolruain), bishop and abbot, founded the monastery at Tallaght, Co Dublin in 774. His reform movement, Célí Dé, produced liturgical and spiritual writings. He died in 792.
1st Reading: Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13
As penalty for their sins, they shall return to slavery in Egypt
They made kings, but not through me;
they set up princes, but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
Your calf is rejected, O Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
For it is from Israel, an artisan made it; it is not God.
The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads, it shall yield no meal;
and if it were to yield, foreigners would devour it.
When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin,
they became to him altars for sinning.
Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions,
they are regarded as a strange thing.
Though they offer choice sacrifices, though they eat flesh,
the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity, and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.
Responsorial: from Psalm 115
R./: The house of Israel trusts in the Lord
Our God is in the heavens;
whatever he wills, he does.
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold,
the work of human hands. (R./)
They have mouths but cannot speak ;
they have eyes but cannot see;
They have ears but cannot hear;
they have noses but cannot smell. (R./)
With their hands they cannot feel ;
with their feet they cannot walk .
Their makers shall be like them,
everyone that trusts in them. (R./)
Gospel: Matthew 9:32-38
Jesus heals, teaches and proclaims the reign of God, for the harvest is ready
After Jesus cured the blind men and they went away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.”
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”
Depth of compassion
Today’s Gospel offers a striking pen-portrait of Jesus’ pastoral ministry: what a glorious combination of zeal and mercy. While driven by the Spirit’s impulse to reach as many people as possible with his healing touch and inspiring teaching, he always found time to show them compassion. He felt for people in the reality of their lives. He knew the limitations they lived with, in their simple houses and days of poorly-paid, unremitting toil. Not for him the life of a pampered courtier in King Herod’s court.
Matthew’s great summing up, “He had compassion for them” should resonate in the hearts of all Christians, but especially in those called to priestly ministry, right up to the holders of the highest pastoral offices in our Church. (Too often one wonders whether those in the Vatican, or indeed our bishops, tune in sufficiently to that profound compassion for which Jesus was so noted. If they did, would they be so ready to dismiss so many from the Lord’s Table, because of marital irregularities, or being born into a different religious tradition? Would they ignore the sense of injustice and exclusion experienced by so many women, who feel that the Church denies them the full exercise of their ministerial gifts?)
Each must be alert to whatever ways God makes it possible for us to mirror his compassion for others. “The harvest” he said “is plentiful, but the labourers are few.” Putting it more positively we can say there is always room for compassionate outreach in our Church. And the forms of that outreach cannot be narrowly confined within the limits imposed by an earlier, patriarchal, monarchical culture. It is in a spirit of hope and of Gospel creativity, therefore, that we should “ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”
Seeing things through a different lens
Theres a sharp contrast between the ordinary people’s response to Our Lord’s healing ministry and how his rivals respond to it. The people were amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’ Their leaders said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.’
Both saw Jesus perform the same deeds, and, yet, both interpreted what they saw in very different ways. One group saw the presence of God and the other group saw the presence of evil. One group was open to the truth of who Jesus really was; the other group were blinded by their prejudice. These were two very different ways of seeing. The people’s way of seeing Jesus was like Jesus’ way of seeing people. He saw the goodness in people just as the people saw the presence of God in Jesus. The gospel calls on us to be alert to the signs of goodness in others, to the signs of God’s presence all around us, especially in those who cross our path in life. We need the generous vision of the people, and especially of Jesus, rather than the jaundiced vision of the religious leaders, if we are to see the many ways that the Lord is present and active among us.
Wednesday of Week 14 – 08 July 2026
Optional Memorial; St Kilian, bishop and martyr, born in Mullagh in the Diocese of Kilmore. Left Ireland with 11 companions, became known as the Apostle of Thuringa and eastern Franconia (in present day Germany). Put to death with Koloat and Totnan in 689. Strong devotion in Würzburg where his remains lie and also throughout the Bavarian countryside.
1st Reading: Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12
Israel’s infidelity has produced a seemingly hopeless situation
Israel is a luxuriant vine
that produces his fruit.
According to the abundance of his fruit
he has multiplied his altars.
As their land has prospered,
they have adorned their sacred pillars.
Their heart is divided. Now they will be found guilty.
God will demolish their altars. He will destroy their sacred pillars.
Surely now they will say, “We have no king.”
For they do not fear the Lord;
and the king, what can he do for them?
Samaria and her king float away,
like a twig on the water.
The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel,
will be destroyed.
The thorn and the thistle
will come up on their altars.
Then they will tell the mountains,”Cover us!” and the hills, “Fall on us!”
Sow for yourselves in righteousness,
reap according to kindness.
Break up your new field;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
Responsorial: Psalm 104:2-7
R./: Seek always the face of the Lord
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice. (R.)
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke. (R.)
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all the earth. (R./)
Gospel: Matthew 10:1-7
Jesus sends his apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel
Jesus called to himself his Twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. Now the names of the Twelve Apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus sent these Twelve out, and commanded them, saying, “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter into any city of the Samaritans. Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’
Giving and Sharing
“Go out to the lost sheep and proclaim, “The Kingdom of heaven is near.”
In God’s ideal kingdom, the world’s produce is to be shared with everyone; and by goodwill and planning there should be plenty for all. Much later in its history, the Israelite kingdom would deny this right of sharing in resources, and social justice was neglected. Whenever the poor are wronged, prosperous folk tend to worship gods other than Yahweh. But when the wealthy selfishly let their neighbours go hungry, fearless prophets rose to voice the anger of God, who rescues his poor out of slavery.
Somehow, the way must be found to share in each other’s gifts without losing our human dignity and sense of equality. Economic measures are never enough of themselves; the solution must have a religious dimension too. Mere legal compliance allows for many loopholes and clever manipulation, and sooner or later injustice and idolatry become rampant like weeds in the once luxuriant vineyard. When we give to others, remember that it is a God-willed sharing, not a one-way giving. In this process, we are learning as much as teaching; for we are as needy as our neighbour, even if in different ways.
The chosen twelve
Jesus chose twelve from among the wider group of disciples, calling them to share in his ministry in a special way. They had privileged access to Jesus; they were given much and much was expected of them. When the gospel writers name the twelve and when they come to Judas Iscariot they always refer to him as ‘the one who was to betray him.’ They were, of course, writing from hindsight. They knew that one of this privileged group, one of the twelve, went on to betray Jesus to the religious authorities who, in turn, handed him over to the political authorities as a threat to the peace. The gospel writers don’t try to gloss over the stark reality that one of the specially chosen, betrayed Jesus. In the National Art Gallery of Dublin there is a wonderful painting by Caravaggio of the moment of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus and the resulting arrest, the ‘taking of Christ’ as it is called. The story of Judas reminds us that Jesus’ choice of us does not automatically mean our choice of him. Our baptismal calling is to keep on choosing the Lord who has chosen us. Each day we need to commit ourselves to him and to his way, as he committed himself to us forever by his life, death and resurrection.
Thursday of Week 14 – 09 July 2026
Optional Memorial: Ss Augustine Zhao Rong, priest, and Companions, martyrs – he was born in 1746, converted to Christianity, ordained priests and martyred in 1815. The memorial also celebrates 119 companions, martyred in China over several centuries but especially during the Boxer Uprising (1899-1901).
1st Reading: Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9
In tender imagery, God declares motherly care for his beloved child, Israel
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
Responsorial: from Psalm 80
R./: Let your face shine on us, o Lord, and we shall be saved
O shepherd of Israel, listen.
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power, o Lord,
O Lord, come to our help . (R./)
Once again, O Lord of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see:
Visit this vine and protect it
the vine your right hand has planted. (R./)
Gospel: Matthew 10:7-15
The twelve are to live frugally and announce the reign of God
Jesus said, “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Love rejected
In a tender verse from Hosea, God declares a relationship with Israel as loving parents speak of their relationship with their child, indeed as a mother would cherish the child she bore. ‘I myself taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in my arms… I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek; stooping down to him I gave him food.’ Yet, in spite of such tender love, Israel turned away from God and went after other gods. Jesus is the fullest revelation possible in a human life of this tender love of God. He too experienced the turning away of people from this love, their refusal to respond to it in any meaningful way.
When Jesus sends out his disciples he warns them to expect the same. They are to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God is at hand, the reign of God’s life-giving love, but they will encounter those who will not welcome them and will not listen to what they have to say. This negative response is not to deter them from their mission of proclaiming God’s loving presence by what they say and do. It certainly did not deter Jesus. When he suffered the ultimate rejection on the cross, he proclaimed the same good news as risen Lord to those who had turned away from him and rejected him. We are to reveal the loving presence of God, regardless of how we are received by others.
God reaches us through others
The ministry of the Twelve is not confined to preaching, for they are also told to cure the sick, heal the leper, and cast out demons. What they have freely received from Jesus, they must freely pass on to others, in a complete sharing of gifts and talents. The true meaning of the reign of God is brought out in the generous relationships of daily life. Further illustration of what our God truly wants of us comes from Hosea, who underlines the quality of compassion, even to heroic proportions.
There is a story about a tiny remnant of Jews who survived in hiding in Nazi Germany during World War II. In their hiding-place, one of them said, “We must pray to God.” Another answered, “If we pray, God will find out that there are still a few Jews left in Germany?” A third added, “It is foolish to pray, for how can God be present in this kind of world?” This was less a question to be answered than a cry of desperation, but the rabbi answered, “It may be foolish to pray, but it is still more foolish not to pray.”
The story of God’s boundless mercy is retold by the prophet Hosea who imagines God saying: “I drew them with cords of love, like a mother raising an infant to her cheeks. But though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer.” The biblical doctrine of a loving, divine providence is captured in those invisible “bands of love.” In richly anthropomorphic language, God cries out in agonies of love: “My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not give vent to my blazing anger,.. For I am God, not man, the Holy One present among you.” This compassion surpasses all human boundaries in its kindness and understanding, in its forgiveness and the renewal of life’s good relationships.
Friday of Week 14 – 10 July 2026
1st Reading: Hosea 14:2-9
A call to repentance and renewal
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”
I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily, he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon. His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon. They shall again live beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom like the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; your faithfulness comes from me. Those who are wise understand these things; those who are discerning know them. For the ways- of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
Responsorial: from Psalm 51
R./: My mouth will declare your praise
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in your great compassion wipe out my offense.
Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
and cleanse me of my sin . (R./)
Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow. (R./)
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me out from your presence,
and do not take from me your Holy Spirit. (R./)
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you. (R./)
Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23
Jesus promises his missionaries all the help they will need
Jesus said to his disciples, “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Reconciled after infidelity
While the text does not explicitly describe Hosea in tears, his text is packed with such intense emotions that this highly charged prophet must have given vent to his feelings in that way. The gospel too, while it does not mention tears, implies them as brother hands brother over to death, and children “turn against parents and have them put to death.”
The prophet Hosea’s pure and lofty ideals for marriage would not permit him to divorce his wife, despite her repeated infidelities. The covenant model kept the prophet from compromising his ideals; he would not accept life as a jungle; it must be life with justice and peace. Hosea condemns the situation in which “There is no fidelity, no mercy.” Repentance must be sincere, as inferred in chapter 6, where the prophet concludes, “That is why I slew them by the words of my mouth.” But then he evokes God’s compassion, “I will heal their defection, I will love them freely; my wrath is turned away from them. I will be like the dew for Israel..” Because Hosea’s patience bore this abundant fruit, the final editor of the book adds the advice, “Let the one who is wise understand these things; let the one who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the Lord, and in them the just shall walk.”
In their meeting, Jacob and Joseph realized that tears of grief and of hope can be turned into tears of joy, for as soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his elderly father’s neck and wept a long time in his arms. So too, when Jesus warns of family hostility and even of betrayal, he advised us to persevere with high hopes and grand ideals. We are not to fight betrayal with betrayal, but with complete trust in God’s ideals of forgiveness and fidelity, and “hold out till the end.” Along the way “you will be given what you are to say.. the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.” When this ideal of goodness extends through the entire world only then can humanity’s best hopes be realized, and the Kingdom of God will have come.
When people reject faith
The gospel is realistic about the kind of welcome we are apt to meet from non-blievers, when we try to talk about personal faith. The mood may well be somewhat hostile, and that hostility could come even from within the family circle. Jesus says we will not be alone if we have to face this kind of rejection. The Holy Spirit will be their as our resource and support.
It could be argued that society today is not as hostile to the faith as when Jesus sent the first disciples. Yet, we know that the values of the gospel are not always respected in the culture of today; many see those gospel values as a threat, especially a threat to what is called human freedom. We are just as much in need of the Holy Spirit today, as the first disciples were, if we are to bear witness to the Lord and all he stands for. We still need the Holy Spirit to inspire our witness to the Lord. The church is as dependant on the Holy Spirit today as it ever was. The good news is that the Holy Spirit is just as available to us today as he was in the earliest days of the church, because the Lord needs our witness today as much as he did then.