Daily Catholic Mass Readings for July 18, 2024
First Reading: Isaiah 26.7-9, 12, 16-19
7The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous.8In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.9My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.12O LORD, you will ordain peace for us; you have done for us all our works.16O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them.17Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O LORD;18we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.
Psalm 102
1Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you!2Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!3For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.4My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread.5Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.6I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places;7I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.8All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.9For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink,10because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down.11My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.12But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.13You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.14For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.15Nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.16For the LORD builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;17he regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.18Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:19that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,20to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die,21that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in Jerusalem his praise,22when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.23He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.24"O my God," I say, "take me not away in the midst of my days--you whose years endure throughout all generations!"25Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.26They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,27but you are the same, and your years have no end.28The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.
Gospel: Matthew 11.28-30
Sermon
In today's readings, we encounter profound messages of hope and comfort amidst suffering. The passage from Isaiah speaks to those enduring hardship, assuring them that their struggles are not in vain. It paints a vivid picture of a people in anguish, yearning for deliverance, yet holding onto the promise of resurrection and new life. The Gospel offers a complementary message, as Jesus invites the weary to find rest in Him, promising that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Isaiah's words are set against the backdrop of a nation in distress, likely during the exile, where the people are grappling with the consequences of their actions. Despite their tribulations, Isaiah instills hope, reminding them that God's judgments are not merely punitive but transformative. Jesus, in Matthew's Gospel, addresses those burdened by life's challenges, offering a different kind of rest—one that comes from surrendering to His will. Both readings converge on the theme of trust: trusting in God's plan even when the path is difficult, and trusting in Jesus' promise of rest.
In our daily lives, these readings encourage us to embrace faith and trust in God's providence. When we face struggles, we are reminded that our efforts, though they may seem futile, are part of a larger divine plan. Jesus' invitation to take His yoke upon us is a call to reorient our burdens, finding strength and comfort in Him. The moral lesson here is clear: in times of trial, we must turn to God with unwavering faith, trusting that He will bring light out of darkness and rest to the weary. This trust is not passive but active, a choice to seek God in every moment, knowing that true rest and redemption are found in Him.