Daily Catholic Mass Readings for July 30, 2021
First Reading: Leviticus 23.1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying4Therefore, these are the feasts of the Lord, which you must celebrate in their times5The first month, the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, is the Passover of the Lord6And the fifteenth day of this month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. For seven days shall you eat unleavened bread7The first day shall be greatly honored and holy to you; you shall do no servile work in it8But you shall offer a sacrifice with fire, for seven days, to the Lord. Then the seventh day shall be more honored and more holy; and you shall do no servile work in it9And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying10Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have entered into the land which I will give to you, and you will have harvested your grain fields, you shall carry the sheaves of grain, the first-fruits of your harvest, to the priest11He shall lift up a sheaf before the Lord, on the day after the Sabbath, so that it may be acceptable for you, and he shall sanctify it15Therefore, you shall number from the day after the Sabbath, in which you offered a sheaf of the first-fruits, seven full weeks16all the way to the day after the completion of the seventh week, that is, fifty days, and then you shall offer a new sacrifice to the Lord27The tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement; it shall be most honored, and it shall be called holy. And you shall afflict your souls on that day, and you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord34Say to the sons of Israel: From the fifteenth day of this seventh month, there shall be the Feast of Tabernacles: seven days for the Lord35The first day shall be called most honored and most holy; you shall do no servile work in it36And for seven days you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. Likewise, the eighth day shall be most honored and most holy, and you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. For it is the day of assembly and gathering. You shall do no servile work in it37These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call most honored and most holy, and in them you shall offer oblations to the Lord: holocausts and libations according to the rite of each particular day
Psalm 81
1Unto the end. For the wine and oil presses. A Psalm of Asaph himself. Exult before God our helper. Sing joyfully to the God of Jacob2Take up a psalm, and bring forth the timbrel: a pleasing Psalter with stringed instruments3Sound the trumpet at the new moon, on the noteworthy day of your solemnity4for it is a precept in Israel and a judgment for the God of Jacob5He set it as a testimony with Joseph, when he went out of the land of Egypt. He heard a tongue that he did not know6He turned the burdens away from his back. His hands had been a slave to baskets7You called upon me in tribulation, and I freed you. I heard you within the hidden tempest. I tested you with waters of contradiction8My people, listen and I will call you to testify. If, O Israel, you will pay heed to me9then there will be no new god among you, nor will you adore a foreign god10For I am the Lord your God, who led you out of the land of Egypt. Widen your mouth, and I will fill it11But my people did not hear my voice, and Israel was not attentive to me12And so, I sent them away, according to the desires of their heart. They will go forth according to their own inventions13If my people had heard me, if Israel had walked in my ways14I would have humbled their enemies, as if it were nothing, and I would have sent my hand upon those who troubled them15The enemies of the Lord have lied to him, and their time will come, in every age16And he fed them from the fat of the grain, and he saturated them with honey from the rock
Gospel: Matthew 13.54-58
54And arriving in his own country, he taught them in their synagogues, so much so that they wondered and said: "How can such wisdom and power be with this one55Is this not the son of a workman? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Therefore, from where has this one obtained all these things?57And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.58And he did not work many miracles there, because of their unbelief
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the importance of faith, tradition, and the challenges of recognizing God’s presence in our lives. In the first reading from Leviticus, we hear about the sacred feasts and rituals that marked the life of the Israelites. These feasts—such as the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Tabernacles—were not just cultural traditions but deeply spiritual practices that connected the people to God’s saving actions in their history. They were moments of communal worship, gratitude, and remembrance, reminding the Israelites of their covenant with God and their dependence on Him for life and sustenance.
In the Gospel, we see Jesus returning to his hometown, where he is met with skepticism and even offense by those who knew him as a child. Despite his wisdom and miracles, the people struggle to see beyond his familiar identity as “the son of a carpenter.” This passage highlights the tension between familiarity and faith. Jesus’ neighbors fail to recognize the divine in their midst because they are limited by their own expectations and prejudices. As Jesus says, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.” Their unbelief hinders God’s work, and Jesus is unable to perform many miracles there.
These readings remind us that faith requires openness and humility. The Israelites’ feasts were rooted in a deep trust in God’s providence, while Jesus’ neighbors allowed their familiarity and pride to blind them to the truth. In our own lives, we may face similar challenges—moments when we fail to recognize God’s presence in the ordinary or when our preconceptions prevent us from embracing His grace. Let us strive to approach God with the humility and trust of the Israelites, and to see beyond the familiar to the divine that is always at work among us.