Daily Catholic Mass Readings for July 19, 2018
First Reading: Isaiah 26.7-9, 12, 16-19
7The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth.8Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.9My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.12LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.16LORD, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer.17As a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, O LORD.18We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth; we have not given birth to people of the world.19But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.
Psalm 102
1Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you.2Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.3For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.4My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.5Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones.6I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.7I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.8All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse.9For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears10because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.11My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.12But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations.13You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come.14For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity.15The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.16For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.17He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.18Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD:19"The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth,20to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death."21So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem22when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD.23In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days.24So I said: "Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations.25In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.26They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.27But you remain the same, and your years will never end.28The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you."
Gospel: Matthew 11.28-30
Sermon
The first reading from Isaiah speaks of the journey of the just, who endure hardships while trusting in God’s plan. The prophet describes the soul’s deep longing for God, even in the midst of tribulation. He uses the metaphor of a woman in labor to convey the struggle of waiting for salvation, but he also offers hope: the dead shall rise, and the light of God’s dew shall bring new life. The passage reminds us that our efforts, though they may seem futile, are part of God’s larger plan, and true peace comes from Him alone.
In the Gospel, Jesus extends an invitation to all who are weary and burdened: “Come to me, and I will refresh you.” He promises that His yoke is easy and His burden light. This is not a call to escape life’s challenges but to face them with a different perspective—one rooted in trust and humility. Jesus, the meek and humble of heart, offers us rest for our souls, not by removing our struggles, but by walking with us through them.
Today’s readings remind us that faith is not about avoiding difficulty but about trusting God in the midst of it. Like the just in Isaiah, we are called to endure with patience and hope, knowing that God’s plan is at work. And like those who take up Christ’s yoke, we are invited to find rest in Him, even as we carry our crosses. Let us turn to God in our struggles, trusting that He will bring light and life out of darkness and labor. In Him, we find the strength to persevere and the hope to rise anew.