June 26 Gospel Matthew 8:1-4 'If you want to, you can cure me' After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. A leper now came up and bowed low in front of him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.’ Reflection Jesus meets people where they are, showing authority and compassion in equal measure. The centurion’s humility and faith—recognizing Jesus’ word as sufficient—reveals a deeper trust in Jesus’ power over illness and distance. Jesus responds with praise for that faith and then extends healing not only to the centurion’s servant but also to Peter’s mother-in-law and many others challenge assumptions about who is worthy. In the kingdom, faith and mercy tr...

June 25 Gospel Matthew 7:21-29 The wise man built his house on a rock Jesus said to his disciples: ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men!     ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!’   ...

June 24 Gospel Luke 1:57-66,80 'His name is John' The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.     Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of ...

June 23 Gospel Matthew 7:6,12-14 Treat others as you would like them to treat you Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.     ‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.     ‘Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’ Reflection Jesus invites discernment and mercy in how we share what is holy. The image of not casting pearls before swine challenges us to bring truth with wisdom, recognizing when others are ready to receive it. More than judgment, the heart of his teaching is reciprocity: **treat others as you would like to be treated**. The narrow gate reminds us that the path to life often requires intentional...

June 22 Gospel Matthew 7:1-5 Do not judge, and you will not be judged Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How dare you say to your brother, “Let me take the splinter out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.’ Reflection Jesus invites discernment and mercy in how we share what is holy. The image of not casting pearls before swine challenges us to bring truth with wisdom, recognizing when others are ready to receive it. More than judgment, the heart of his teaching is reciprocity: **treat others as you would like to be treated**. The narrow gate reminds us that t...

June 21 Gospel Matthew 10:26-33 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not be afraid. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.     ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.     ‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’ Reflection Jes...