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Gospel Reading for July 18, 2025 – Matthew 12: 18
TGFS
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
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Food comes in all forms, including grain, and grain is provided by God our Creator for our sustenance. Why would it be wrong to pick grain on Sabbath or the Lord’s Day when we are hungry? The Lord’s Day is a special day to remember with gratitude and thank God for all the graces we endlessly receive from him. It is a day of rejoicing because even when Jesus went back to the Father, he continues to be present among us through his Holy Spirit. It is his Spirit that gathers as together during the Eucharistic Celebrations, making us ONE. Remember that during the pandemic, when live masses were not allowed, the Sunday online masses were doing very well with viewers. It is also a day to make others rejoice, especially those who need our help and our prayers. This is why the sick at home are visited and are given holy communion. Some go to orphanages, to homes for the aged, to the cemetery, to go outing as a family or as a group of friends, and so on and so forth. Sunday is God’s gift to us, hence, it should be A BEAUTIFUL DAY, not a BURDENSOME DAY. TGFS (Thank God for Sunday!)
Lord Jesus, may all our Sundays be a special day to give glory to you!
