OUR GOD OF THE LIVING

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7 July 2025

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

OUR GOD OF THE LIVING

Introduction

Today’s first reading about the ladder of Jacob tells us about the continuous presence of God to those he loves. God himself is there, stooping down to people and messengers of God coming down and going up. This means that his continuous solicitude surrounds us. God is here, with us; we live in his love as long as we want to.

God has made us for life. In Jesus, he shows us that he wants us to be healed, that is, wholly and fully alive and raised from the dead, for by his resurrection Jesus defeats death in its roots. In this Eucharist, we ask Jesus to raise us up, from the death of sin and ultimately from physical death.

Opening Prayer

God of all that breathes and lives,
your Son Jesus, touched people
and they were healed and they lived.
Let him take us by the hand
and raise us up from sin and discouragement.
Let him touch us with his body and blood
and make us fresh and new again
to live his life and to go his way to you.
Let him touch us with the warmth of his love
that our love may revive others,
especially the poor and those who suffer.
All this we ask through Christ, our Lord.

1 Reading: Gn 28:10-22a

Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,
he stopped there for the night.
Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head
and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God's messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying:
"I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham
and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;
I will protect you wherever you go,
and bring you back to this land.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you."

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed,
"Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!"
In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine!
This is nothing else but an abode of God,
and that is the gateway to heaven!"
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone
that he had put under his head,
set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it.
He called the site Bethel,
whereas the former name of the town had been Luz.

Jacob then made this vow: "If God remains with me,
to protect me on this journey I am making
and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,
and I come back safe to my father's house, the LORD shall be my God.
This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God's abode."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab

R.(see 2b) In you, my God, I place my trust.

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

R. In you, my God, I place my trust.

For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler,
from the destroying pestilence.
With his pinions he will cover you,
and under his wings you shall take refuge.

R. In you, my God, I place my trust.

Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress.

R. In you, my God, I place my trust.

Alleluia: See 2 Tm 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Mt 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
""My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.""
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, ""If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.""
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
""Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.""
And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official's house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, ""Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.""
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.

Intercessions

– That the Church may continue with compassion Jesus’ healing ministry, that the sick may be comforted, the downtrodden set free and the poor and the weak protected, we pray:

– That doctors and nurses and all who care for the sick and the handicapped may have a great respect for life and be inspired in their task by the love of Christ, we pray:

– That the faith and the hope of the sick and the dying may be firmly anchored in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life; that with him, they may accept their pains with patience, and when the time comes, also accept death as the gateway to full life, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
this is your dwelling place
to which you have invited us.
We offer you here all our love and trust,
through him who had placed himself
into your hands
and kept trusting in you even in death,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
our life and death are in your hands.
We are certain of you
because we know your love is irrevocable
and you have given us your Son in this Eucharist.
May we learn from you and him
to be present to one another
and to be reliable messengers to each other
of your care and your gratuitous love.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

God wants us to live to the full. That is why he lets his Son, Jesus Christ, heals and strengthens us with the food and drink of everlasting life. May Almighty God bless and keep you: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Reflection:

Matthew 9:18-26

The impossible is possible with faith

The Gospel story of today shows Jesus healing two women. Before Jesus' healing power, their very different stories cross paths. The first was the death of a young woman at the prime of her life. The other woman was marginalized for being impure because of an incurable haemorrhage. The only thing they have in common is the need to be rescued by someone with the power to save their lives.

In the case of the young woman, it was her father who took the bold gesture to approach Jesus and ask for Jesus' intervention. But the older woman took it upon herself to "steal" a miracle from Jesus, violating something very sacred for the Jews. It was sacrilege to touch even the edges of the robe while the person was impure because of the flow of blood.

The story of these two women can be our own story. It is Jesus who allows himself to be reached by both of them. He does not exclude them nor make it difficult for them. There are no questions he asks about them. There is no price or condition attached to his immediate intervention. He does not look at the appearances or social or religious classes of the person approaching him. People's pain moves him and he reacts to sickness and death.

He does not look for recognition for the signs he performs. He does not claim to say, "I am the one who heals you or brings you back to life." He only pronounces the phrase "your faith has saved you" and takes the dead girl by the hand. He highlights the value of that faith capable of the impossible.

Jesus comes into contact with those excluded from society, the lepers, and the abandoned. We keep a prudent distance from situations and people that might affect our lives. There is no better way to share our life than to reach out to those in need, whether it is with a smile, a word, a hug, or words of encouragement.

We should not let inhibition, indifference, or disinterest keep us from getting in touch with reality or getting to know people. As Jesus did in this Gospel, let us give life to others. By reaching out to people in need, we will also receive life, like the sick woman, because grace is found among the poor and those in need.

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7 July 2025

Matthew 9:18-26

Jesus – the ladder of grace

Today, the Word of God speaks to us of salvation and liberation. In the first reading, we listen to the journey of Jacob, during which he rests and dreams of a ladder stretching from earth to heaven (Gen 28:10–22). It is not a tower built by human pride like Babel, but a ladder from which God descends. This is the heart of the mystery: we do not climb up to God by our own strength — it is God who comes down to meet us, in Jesus, the ladder between heaven and earth.

This ladder is grace. It is God’s loving initiative, fulfilled in the incarnation. Christ is Emmanuel, “God-with-us,” who brings heaven close to us and walks with us in mercy.

Faced with this revelation, Jacob responds with faith: “The Lord shall be my God” (Gen 28:21). His prayer becomes trust. We echoed this today: “O my God, I trust in you.” Trust is born in moments of weakness, when the false securities of the world fall away, and we discover that only God saves.

In the Gospel (Mt 9:18–26), we meet two people who understand this: a synagogue official begging for his daughter’s life, and a woman suffering for years. Both are poor in spirit. Both approach Jesus with faith. And Jesus responds not with judgment, but with liberation. He lifts them up.

Jesus teaches us to put the “least” first — the sick, the outcast, the forgotten. These are the ones closest to his heart. We are called to be like the angels on Jacob’s ladder, helping others climb, lifting the poor, the broken, the weary.

Let us not walk past them. Let us be the hands that carry them toward the light. For only in lifting others do we ourselves rise toward heaven. Amen.

Jesus – the ladder of grace - Youtube

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