"Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Mt 7:6)
READING OF THE DAY
A reading from the Second Book of Kings
2 KGS 19:9B-11, 14-21, 31-35A, 36
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah
with this message:
“Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah:
‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you
by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over
to the king of Assyria.
You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done
to all other countries: they doomed them!
Will you, then, be saved?’”Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it;
then he went up to the temple of the LORD,
and spreading it out before him,
he prayed in the LORD’s presence:
“O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim!
You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.
You have made the heavens and the earth.
Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen!
Open your eyes, O LORD, and see!
Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.
Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations
and their lands, and cast their gods into the fire;
they destroyed them because they were not gods,
but the work of human hands, wood and stone.
Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from the power of this man,
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you alone, O LORD, are God.”Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah:
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria:
I have listened!
This is the word the LORD has spoken concerning him:“‘She despises you, laughs you to scorn,
the virgin daughter Zion!
Behind you she wags her head,
daughter Jerusalem.“‘For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant,
and from Mount Zion, survivors.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.’“Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it,
nor come before it with a shield,
nor cast up siege-works against it.
He shall return by the same way he came,
without entering the city, says the LORD.
I will shield and save this city for my own sake,
and for the sake of my servant David.’”That night the angel of the LORD went forth and struck down
one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.
So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp,
and went back home to Nineveh.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew
MT 7:6, 12-14
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”
TUESDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Mt 7:6 12-14
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
In God's Word today, God continues to teach humanity about the holy life, the most basic life to enter the Kingdom of Heaven:
- The first thing: God teaches humans to appreciate what is holy, moral, and pleasing to God the Father.
Everyone should strive to practice the holy graces that God gives, to respect and not despise all the graces that God bestows on each individual person, and to work on doing good and virtuous deeds to earn a profit for God the Father.
- Second thing: Since ancient times, God has taught us through the law and the prophets that we must: "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you." This is the golden rule that God teaches regarding how we should treat one another. It is always a desire of people for others to love, cherish, and treat them well. However, God instructs people to take the first step, to bring love to others first, to do for others what they want others to do for them. It is always God's call on people to open their hearts to reach out to others with a heart of love, forgiveness, and humility.
- Third thing: There are two paths given by God: the path to eternal life is always narrow; whereas the wide and broad path does not lead to eternal life, yet it is the path of the world. God always gives humans the freedom to choose to follow Him. In order to have eternal life, to enjoy the eternal happiness of Heaven with God the Father in this life, we will encounter many difficulties, trials, and hardships, and must endure humiliation and sacrifice. It is a narrow path that few people want to take. But God still loves and continues to teach people: to be strong and walk on the narrow road that leads to eternal life.
What is the narrow road that God the Father is calling us to follow? It is the path of suffering, sacrifice, giving one's life for others, serving them selflessly, and finally giving up everything to carry the cross and follow God to Calvary, is the path that Jesus Christ traveled.
The Word of God today calls all of His children to have perfect eternal life with God the Father, to walk on the narrow road, and to carry our crosses to Calvary and be crucified and die with Him in order to have eternal life with God the Father. In regards to the wide and broad road, the gate of comfort and happiness on earth will bring people to destruction, not leading to an eternal happy life with God the Father. Therefore, God calls everyone, no one, to follow the path of freedom, broad, and comfort in this world. But to walk on the narrow path that Jesus Christ walked, which is the path that leads to perfect eternal life.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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