July 19, Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Apollinaris, bishop and martyr
Daily Readings: Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8; Matthew 12:1-8
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is accused of breaking the Sabbath when His disciples pluck and eat grain in a field. This incident highlights the contrast between Jesus’ teachings and the traditional Jewish understanding of the Sabbath.
Instead of condemning His disciples, Jesus uses this opportunity to teach a deeper lesson about the Sabbath: its true purpose is to bring people closer to God, not to separate them from Him.
The Pharisees are more concerned with following the letter of the law than with embodying the spirit of God’s commands. Their focus on what is right and wrong blinds them to the importance of showing compassion and mercy to others.
Life's quality is measured by compassion and mercy, not merely by adherence to rules and regulations, though these are not to be disregarded. The objective of the Sabbath is to provide rest from labor and to honor God.
Call to Action for Catholic Living: As we rest on holidays, do we give glory to God? We can fulfill our obligation to honor God through active participation in Sunday liturgy. God is best glorified by living lives of compassion and mercy. In fact, Pope Francis has said that another name for God is mercy.
Let us ask God for the grace to glorify Him every day through lives filled with compassion, love, mercy, and forgiveness. Amen.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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