Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
412

FIRST READING

Deuteronomy 6:4-13

Moses said to the people:
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.
Drill them into your children.
Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.
Bind them at your wrist as a sign
and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.
Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

"When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which he swore
to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
that he would give you,
a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,
with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner,
with cisterns that you did not dig,
with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant;
and when, therefore, you eat your fill,
take care not to forget the LORD,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
The LORD, your God, shall you fear;
him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear."

PSALM

Psalm 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51

Response: I love you, Lord, my strength.

I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim!
And I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD live! And blessed be my Rock!
Extolled be God my savior!
You who gave great victories to your king,
and showed kindness to your anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

GOSPEL

Matthew 17:14-20

A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said,
"Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;
often he falls into fire, and often into water.
I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."
Jesus said in reply,
"O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you?
Bring the boy here to me."
Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,
and from that hour the boy was cured.
Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,
"Why could we not drive it out?"
He said to them, "Because of your little faith.
Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you."

Daily Reflection

...there’s always room for love!

In the first reading, Moses delivers the Shemah (“Hear, O Israel”) which is one of the keystones of the Jewish faith and which devout Jews post on their front doors to this day. First and foremost they must love the Lord, their God, with their whole heart, soul, and strength. The prayer also recalls God’s promise and reminds them to place their trust in Him. Over time, this practice turned into a rigid observance of law rather than a living act of faith.

In the Gospel, the disciples are unable to heal an epileptic and Jesus chastises his followers because they lack sufficient faith. He tells them that faith, even the size of a mustard seed, can move mountains!

Jesus teaches us that faith is much more than just knowing the essential tenets; faith means having a relationship with God and living out that relationship in daily life – a relationship grounded in implicit trust and demonstrated by a sincere love for all of God’s creation.

Do we truly love God with our whole heart and strength?