Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Also Read: Mass Readings for 20 July 2025 Sunday Reflection by Maryanne – 20 July 2025
Hospitality as a Path to Holiness
Christian hospitality is a participation in the divine life. This is made clear in the first reading where Abraham welcomes God in the form of the three strangers. When we welcome others with love, generosity, and attentiveness, we make space for God Himself. The Church has always seen in acts of hospitality an image of our openness to grace. We encounter Christ in the faces of those we serve (cf. Hebrews 13:2). The Christian home is not just a private space but a domestic church, where strangers become guests and guests become icons of Christ.
Justice Is the Shape of Love in Public
The moral life is not an abstraction; it is lived in our speech, our promises, and our treatment of others. “He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.” This is a call to integrity like the Psalm shows us. Justice in the Christian life means giving each person their due, beginning with God. It is lived out in honesty, fidelity, compassion, and the courage to act rightly when it costs us. Injustice erodes our communion with God, but when we “walk blamelessly,” we become living signs of His kingdom.
Redemptive Suffering Builds the Church
St. Paul’s mysterious words about “making up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ” teach us that suffering, when united to Christ, becomes redemptive. The Church is not built on success or comfort but on the self-gift of its members. Every hardship endured for the sake of Christ and His Body participates in the mystery of salvation. This is the paradox of the Cross: love grows strongest when it is poured out. We are not called to comfort, but to communion with Christ crucified.
Prayer Must Precede Action
The spiritual life demands discernment between good and better. Martha’s service is not condemned—but Mary’s contemplative posture is praised as the “better part.” We must serve, but our service must flow from union with Christ. In a noisy world that measures worth by productivity, Jesus calls us to listen first. Prayer is not passivity; it is power. From it flows the grace to act with love, peace, and purpose. Without prayer, action becomes anxious. With prayer, even silence becomes fruitful.
Leave a Reply