A heart that knows God:
The Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026
July 26, 2026
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Isaiah 55:1-3; Psalm 145; Romans 8:35-39; Matthew 14:13-21
You cannot get a more admirable answer than Solomon gave when he was asked in a dream: for what do you wish? An understanding heart. Wow. That passage always moves me. I want that for myself – a heart so wise and understanding. I want the type of heart that seeks to understand so that my reflections are laced with mercy. I want this in my leaders too, and when our leaders are not acting with this warm pastoral care that shows concern for all peoples, I pray that their hearts be opened to conversion. Each of us has several metanoias in our lifetime, and I pray that our leaders and elected officials may have this experience.
Why is this wisdom elusive? The human heart is the place where God wants to dwell. Often when people move into roles of authority, they seek to guarantee stability and power for themselves, and they lose sight of the wisdom of Solomon. It is far too easy to build a foundation built upon pride and self-sufficiency, which has the consequence of sacrificing human dignity. We cannot lose sight of our fundamental humanity and our need to connect with one another.
In Pope Leo’s encyclical, he asks us to adopt Solomon’s plea for wisdom. He asks us to rebuild relationships, especially those who take on opposite positions. It is time to rebuild a civilization based on love and create places of communion. Our church is evolving rapidly and it is leaving behind an orthodoxy that prized uniformity. It asks our pastoral leaders to listen to the concrete concerns of the people, to share responsibility, and to respect distinct gifts. We can see how diversity can be transformed into a vital resource that builds the common good. Every person has to assume one’s own role in forming this church. Sometimes, we have to teach a priest what it means to serve the people’s needs. The priest, knowing that the church belongs to the People of God, will listen and foster dialogue to build the common ground.
Jesus tells us the parable of the treasure in the field. When one recognizes the pearl of great price, the person gives us one’s effort to hold onto it and keep it safeguarded. What is my spin on this pearl? It is in knowing that God radically loves you and desires you. It is in having a personal felt experience of God’s care for you – a knowledge of the heart that endures, a knowledge that you treasure at all costs. It is the wisdom that we carry in our hearts – a wisdom of understanding and compassion. It is a quiet gratitude for the blessings that you have, even in the midst of conflict and suffering. It is the assurance that Christ walks with you daily and that you are guided by the Spirit to bring more love to the world. Do you know this presence? Do you believe you are loved, that you are lovable, that you are worthy of God’s presence within you? Even if you do not yet fully trust it, I know how profoundly you are cherished.
Wonder. Admiration. Astonishment. Hold onto these moments. As God gazes upon you, I can only imagine this is how God feels about you. God’s great desire is to dwell in the human heart and bring it understanding, mercy, and wisdom.
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Jeremiah 13) Obedient to the LORD’s command, I went to the Parath and buried the loincloth. After a long interval, the LORD said to me: Go now to the Parath and fetch the loincloth which I told you to hide there.
Tuesday: (Jeremiah 14) Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest, Over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound. If I walk out into the field, look! those slain by the sword.
Wednesday: (Jeremiah 15) Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth! a man of strife and contention to all the land! I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me. When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart
Thursday (Jeremiah 18) Rise up, be off to the potter’s house; there I will give you my message. I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Friday (1 Corinthians 10) Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense, whether to Jews or Greeks or the Church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved.
Saturday (Jeremiah 26) Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds; listen to the voice of the LORD your God, so that the LORD will repent of the evil with which he threatens you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me what you think good and right.
Gospel:
Monday: (Matthew 13) The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.
Tuesday: (Matthew 13) He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Wednesday (John 11) Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died]. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.
Thursday (Matthew 13) The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus, it will be at the end of the age.
Friday (Luke 14) If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Saturday (Matthew 14) Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Saints of the Week
July 26: Joachim and Anne, Mary's parents (1st century) are names attributed to the grandparents of Jesus through the Proto-Gospel of James. These names appeared in the Christian tradition though we don't know anything with certitude about their lives. Devotion of Anne began in Constantinople in the 6th century while Joachim gained acclaim in the West in the 16th century. He was revered in the Eastern churches since the earliest times.
July 29: Martha (1st century), is the sister of Mary and Lazarus of Bethany near Jerusalem. Martha is considered the busy, activity-attentive sister while Mary is more contemplative. Martha is known for her hospitality and fidelity. She proclaimed her belief that Jesus was the Christ when he appeared after Lazarus had died.
July 30: Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor (406-450), was the archbishop of Ravenna, Italy in the 5th century when the faithful became lax and adopted pagan practices. He revived the faith through his preaching. He was titled Chrysologus because of his 'golden words.'
July 31: Ignatius of Loyola, priest (1491-1556), is one of the founders of the Jesuits and the author of the Spiritual Exercises. As a Basque nobleman, he was wounded in a battle at Pamplona in northeastern Spain and convalesced at his castle where he realized he followed a methodology of discernment of spirits. When he recovered, he ministered to the sick and dying and then retreated to a cave at Manresa, Spain where he had experiences that formed the basis of The Spiritual Exercises. In order to preach, he studied Latin, earned a Master’s Degree at the University of Paris, and then gathered other students to serve Jesus. Francis Xavier and Peter Faber were his first friends. After ordination, Ignatius and his nine friends went to Rome where they formally became the Society of Jesus. Most Jesuits were sent on mission, but Ignatius stayed in Rome directing the rapidly growing religious order, composing its constitutions, and perfecting the Spiritual Exercises. He died in 1556 and the Jesuit Order was already 1,000 men strong.
August 1: Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor (1696-1787), founded a band of mission priests that became the Redemptorists. He wrote a book called "Moral Theology" that linked legal aspects with kindness and compassion for others. He became known for his responsive and thoughtful way of dealing with confessions.
This Week in Jesuit History
- July 26, 1872. At Rome, the greater part of the Professed House of the Gesu was seized and appropriated by the Piedmontese government.
- July 27, 1609. Pope Paul V beatifies Ignatius.
- July 28, 1564. In a consistory held before twenty-four Cardinals, Pope Paul IV announced his intention of entrusting the Roman Seminary to the Society.
- July 29, 1865. The death in Cincinnati, Ohio of Fr. Peter Arnoudt, a Belgian. He was the author of The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
- July 30, 1556. As he lay near death, Ignatius asked Juan de Polanco to go and obtain for him the blessing of the pope.
- July 31, 1556. The death in Rome of Ignatius Loyola.
- August 1, 1938. The Jesuits of the Middle United States, by Gilbert Garrigan was copyrighted. This monumental three-volume work followed the history of the Jesuits in the Midwest from the early 1820s to the 1930s.
