Monday of the Seventeenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Exodus

Moses then 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.
Now, when Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, "That sounds like a battle in the camp."
But Moses answered, "It does not sound like cries of victory, nor does it sound like cries of defeat; the sounds that I hear are cries of revelry."
As he drew near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. With that, Moses' wrath flared up, so that he threw the tablets down and broke them on the base of the mountain.
Taking the calf they had made, he fused it in the fire and then ground it down to powder, which he scattered on the water and made the Israelites drink.
Moses asked Aaron, "What did this people ever do to you that you should lead them into so grave a sin?" Aaron replied, "Let not my lord be angry.
You know well enough how prone the people are to evil.
They said to me, 'Make us a god to be our leader; as for the man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.'
So I told them, 'Let anyone who has gold jewelry take it off.' They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out."
On the next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a grave sin. I will go up to the LORD, then; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin."
So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Ah, this people has indeed committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves!
If you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written."
The LORD answered, "Him only who has sinned against me will I strike out of my book.
Now, go and lead the people whither I have told you. My angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."

Psalms

Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. "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.'"
He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened."
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world."

St. Ignatius of Loyola(Priest (1491-1556))

SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA Priest (1491-1556) St. Ignatius was born at Loyola, Spain, in 1491. He was a courtier and soldier until age 30, when an injury forced his retirement. While convalescing, he experienced metanoia. The catalyst was a book encouraging its readers to place themselves amidst the scenes of the Gospel during prayer. With charity for God and zeal for souls, Ignatius, together with Peter Faver and Francis Xavier, vowed to evangelize the Holy Land. However, war broke out and prevented them from going. The group then turned to the Vicar of Jesus Christ, who approved the order they founded: the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits' vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope made them effective reformers of Catholic clerics during the Counter-Reformation. Our Lord promised Ignatius that the precious heritage of His Passion would never fail the Society. Ignatius was once cast into prison at Salamanca on a suspicion of heresy. To a friend who expressed sympathy with him, he replied: "It is a sign that you have but little love of Christ in your heart, or you would not deem it so hard a fate to be in chains for His sake. I declare to you that all Salamanca does not contain as many fetters, manacles, and chains as I long to wear for the love of Jesus Christ." St. Ignatius went into eternity on July 31, 1556. Alive in heaven, he may be contacted through prayer for intercession and graces. His far-reaching work saved whole nations, like the Philippines, from the ravages of imperialism. The following Gospel quote well-summarizes the life of one who saved so many: "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (Jn. 21:25).

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2023 / Catholic Missal of july 2023