Daily Mass Readings – Saturday, 1 July 2028

2 Beth. The Lord hath cast down headlong, and hath not spared, all that was beautiful in Jacob: he hath destroyed in his wrath the strong holds of the virgin of Juda, and brought them down to the ground: he hath made the kingdom unclean, and the princes thereof.

10 Jod. The ancients of the daughter of Sion sit upon the ground, they have held their peace: they have sprinkled their heads with dust, they are girded with haircloth, the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.

11 Caph. My eyes have failed with weeping, my bowels are troubled: my liver is poured out upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people, when the children, and the sucklings, fainted away in the streets of the city.

12 Lamed. They said to their mothers: Where is corn and wine? when they fainted away as the wounded in the streets of the city: when they breathed out their souls in the bosoms of their mothers.

13 Mem. To what shall I compare thee? or to what shall I liken thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? to what shall I equal thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Sion? for great as the sea is thy destruction: who shall heal thee?

14 Nun. Thy prophets have seen false and foolish things for thee: and they have not laid open thy iniquity, to excite thee to penance: but they have seen for thee false revelations and banishments.

18 Sade. Their heart cried to the Lord upon the walls of the daughter of Sion: Let tears run down like a torrent day and night: give thyself no rest, and let not the apple of thy eye cease.

19 Coph. Arise, give praise in the night, in the beginning of the watches: pour out thy heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands to him for the life of thy little children, that have fainted for hunger at the top of all the streets.

R. (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

1b O God, why hast thou cast us off unto the end: why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture?

2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the beginning. The sceptre of thy inheritance which thou hast redeemed: mount Sion in which thou hast dwelt.

R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

3 Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end; see what things the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.

4 And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of thy solemnity. They have set up their ensigns for signs,

5 And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top. As with axes in a wood of trees,

R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

6 They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and hatchet they have brought it down.

7 They have set fire to thy sanctuary: they have defiled the dwelling place of thy name on the earth.

R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

20 Have regard to thy covenant: for they that are the obscure of the earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity.

21 Let not the humble be turned away with confusion: the poor and needy shall praise thy name.

R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

17 Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

5 And when he had entered into Capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him,

6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grieviously tormented.

7 And Jesus saith to him: I will come and heal him.

8 And the centurion making answer, said: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

9 For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

10 And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him: Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel.

11 And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven:

12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

13 And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was healed at the same hour.

14 And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying, and sick of a fever:

15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered to them.

16 And when evening was come, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word: and all that were sick he healed:

17 That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet Isaias, saying: He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.

The readings place immense suffering before God without hiding its bitterness. Jerusalem is devastated, children faint with hunger, and the people cry out, “Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.” Yet even in such desolation, the heart is urged to pour itself out before the Lord. Faith does not require us to pretend that pain is small; it brings the whole truth of our need into God’s presence.

The centurion shows what this faith can look like. He recognizes both his unworthiness and Christ’s authority: Jesus need only speak, and healing will come. The Lord responds to this humble trust, healing the servant and then restoring Peter’s mother-in-law, while bearing the infirmities of all who are brought to him. Christ’s word still reaches places we cannot reach. We can place before him the wounds of the world, the suffering of others, and our own weakness, trusting that his compassion is greater than our helplessness. Like the centurion, we need not demand that Christ enter according to our plans. We can ask him to speak—and remain confident that his mercy is at work.

Lord Jesus, remember the poor, the wounded, and all who cry out in their distress. Teach me to bring suffering honestly before you, without despair and without turning away. Give me the centurion’s humble faith, trusting in the power of your word even when I cannot see how healing will come. Speak peace into troubled hearts, strengthen those who serve the sick, and make me attentive to the needs of others. When I feel unworthy, remind me that your mercy is not limited by my weakness. May your compassion govern my words and actions. Amen.