Daily Catholic Mass Readings for July 18, 2024

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

Psalms

Chapter 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

Matthew

Chapter 11

²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

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.