The Generosity of God:
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025
July 27, 2025
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Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13
Abraham pushed God to respond compassionately for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who remained innocent. What was the sin of those two cities – a lack of hospitality. He asked, “Why should the innocent be punished alongside the wicked?” Abraham gave us a model of asking for what we need and want, and the Gospel passage punctuates that behavior. This also gives us a picture of a God who is generous, involved in our lives, and concerned for our happiness. The point of this is to imagine the immensity and goodness of God.
When we gather for worship, our minds balance the transcendent aspects of God with the personal, relational God. This God is the creator of the cosmos and the one who cares about the nameless person in prison. We live on our planet earth and we are concerned mainly for local matters, and yet, our universe is unimaginably large and scientists will tell us that the universe is still being born. I almost do not even have the mind to comprehend this reality, and there are thousands of universes within the cosmos. God is the author of those other universes as well. The universe continues to evolve, as humans and human consciousness evolves, and what we will be in the future is still an unknown.
The Church in its conscious reflection on its own evolution reflected upon its need to engage the world maturely and magnanimously. It moved from being primarily concerned with its own internal affairs to being concerned for matters in the world. So, the God that we pray to does not only care for Catholics, but for all citizens of the world regardless of faith, nationality, or whether one espoused a religious practice at all. The Church recognized it became responsible to advocate for all who are victims of injustice, who face persecution, who are poor and marginalized, and who feel they do not have a God who will listen to them.
The consciousness of the church continues to evolve as it begins to ask how it can be a source of guidance and holiness for people across the world. Just as God is both transcendent and personal, church is also transcendent and personal. Our experience of church is no longer just local. It has a worldwide communion dimension to it. We are a “both and” people, meaning we do not have to take partisan sides. We can pray for victims on both sides of armed conflict. We can pray for religiously persecuted people of other faiths. We can support the good efforts done by religious communities who are not Catholic and are doing their best to help others come to an experiential knowledge of God. The Church is evolving beyond its traditional boundaries, finding its ministerial role in world affairs, and finding its voice in new ways by listening to the people who suffer and are in search of a God who wants to know, “How are you doing? Can I help?”
Abraham helped God become conscious of the presence of the suffering innocent people in those twin cities. At the Resurrection, humans became conscious that God knows and understands human suffering. Our church consciousness is aware of the pain and loss that many in the world face and is moved by compassion to care for others. Compassion and empathy are characteristics of our evolving Church, as it emulates the compassion God has for us. Jesus implores us to ask for what we need. He hears our cries and the tears of all the suffering, and it allows him to give us the compassion we need. His compassion consoles our hearts and minds as we realize just how much we need his caring touch.
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Exodus 32) Moses turned and came down the mountain with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, front and back; tablets that were made by God, having inscriptions on them that were engraved by God himself.
Tuesday: (Exodus 33) The tent, which was called the meeting tent, Moses used to pitch at some distance away, outside the camp. Anyone who wished to consult the LORD would go to this meeting tent outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent.
Wednesday: (Exodus 34) As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the LORD.
Thursday: (Exodus 40) He spread the tent over the Dwelling and put the covering on top of the tent, as the LORD had commanded him. He took the commandments and put them in the ark; he placed poles alongside the ark and set the propitiatory upon it.
Friday (Leviticus 23) These are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate at their proper time with a sacred assembly. The Passover of the LORD falls on the fourteenth day of the first month, at the evening twilight. The fifteenth day of this month is the LORD's feast of Unleavened Bread.
Saturday (Leviticus 25) Seven weeks of years shall you count–seven times seven years–
so that the seven cycles amount to forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, let the trumpet resound; on this, the Day of Atonement, the trumpet blast shall re-echo throughout your land. This fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you.
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.
Tuesday: (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.
Wednesday (Matthew 13) The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.
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.
Friday (Matthew 13) Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
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 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.
August 2: Peter Faber, S.J., priest and founder (1506-1546), was one of the original companions of the Society of Jesus. He was a French theologian and the first Jesuit priest and was the presider over the first vows of the lay companions. He became known for directing the Spiritual Exercises very well. He was called to the Council of Trent but died as the participants were gathering.
This Week in Jesuit History
- 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.
- August 2, 1981. The death of Gerald Kelly, moral theologian and author of "Modern Youth and Chastity."
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