Ordinary Weekday/ Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary/ Sixtus II, Pope, Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs/ Cajetan, Priest
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 18: 2-3a, 3c-4, 47 and 51
Alleluia: Second Timothy 1: 10
Gospel: Matthew 17: 14-20
First Reading: Deuteronomy 6: 4-13
4 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.
5 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength.
6 And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart:
7 And thou shalt tell them to thy children, and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising.
8 And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy hand, and they shall be and shall move between thy eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them in the entry, and on the doors of thy house.
10 And when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, for which he swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and shall have given thee great and goodly cities, which thou didst not build,
11 Houses full of riches, which thou didst not set up, cisterns which thou didst not dig, vineyards and oliveyards, which thou didst not plant,
12 And thou shalt have eaten and be full:
13 Take heed diligently lest thou forget the Lord, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve him only, and thou shalt swear by his name.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 18: 2-3a, 3c-4, 47 and 51
R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength:
3a The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
3c My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support.
4 Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
47 The Lord liveth, and blessed be my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted:
51 Giving great deliverance to his king, and shewing mercy to David his anointed: and to his seed for ever.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Alleluia: Second Timothy 1: 10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
10 Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Matthew 17: 14-20
14 And when he was come to the multitude, there came to him a man falling down on his knees before him, saying: Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water.
15 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
16 Then Jesus answered and said: O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
17 And Jesus rebuked him, and the devil went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour.
18 Then came the disciples to Jesus secretly, and said: Why could not we cast him out?
19 Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief. For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from hence hither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
20 But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting.
Reflection
Israel is commanded to love the Lord with the whole heart, soul, and strength, keeping his words close in every ordinary moment—at home, on the journey, in rising and resting. This wholehearted love is also a safeguard against forgetting God when life becomes secure and full. The psalm gives that love a personal voice: the Lord is refuge, deliverer, protector, and strength. Faith begins by remembering whom we depend upon.
In the Gospel, a suffering child is brought to Jesus, and the disciples discover that their ministry cannot rest on their own ability. Jesus responds to the father’s plea with mercy, and he teaches that even faith as small as a mustard seed can open what seems impossible, when it is nourished by prayer and fasting. The Savior who brings life to light asks for a trusting heart, not self-reliance. We keep faith alive by carrying God’s word through our daily lives, returning to prayer, and remembering that every true deliverance comes from him.
Prayer
Lord our God, you alone are our strength, refuge, and deliverer. Keep your word within our hearts so that comfort, success, or difficulty may never cause us to forget you. Give us the humble faith to bring every need before Jesus, trusting in his mercy when our own efforts are insufficient. Teach us to pray with perseverance and to fast with sincere hearts, making room for your grace. Strengthen our faith, even when it feels as small as a mustard seed, and help us love you with our whole heart, soul, and strength. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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