13TH WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mt 8:28-34) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.” (Mt 8:34)

FIRST READING - 21:5, 8-20a

A reading from the Book of Genesis

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Isaac grew, and on the day of the child's weaning

Abraham held a great feast.

Sarah noticed the son whom Hagar the Egyptian

had borne to Abraham

playing with her son Isaac;

so she demanded of Abraham:

"Drive out that slave and her son!

No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance

with my son Isaac!"

Abraham was greatly distressed,

especially on account of his son Ishmael.

But God said to Abraham: "Do not be distressed about the boy

or about your slave woman.

Heed the demands of Sarah, no matter what she is asking of you;

for it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name.

As for the son of the slave woman,

I will make a great nation of him also,

since he too is your offspring."

Early the next morning Abraham got some bread and a skin of water

and gave them to Hagar.

Then, placing the child on her back, he sent her away.

As she roamed aimlessly in the wilderness of Beer-sheba,

the water in the skin was used up.

So she put the child down under a shrub,

and then went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away;

for she said to herself, "Let me not watch to see the child die."

As she sat opposite Ishmael, he began to cry.

God heard the boy's cry,

and God's messenger called to Hagar from heaven:

"What is the matter, Hagar?

Don't be afraid; God has heard the boy's cry in this plight of his.

Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand;

for I will make of him a great nation."

Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.

She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink.

God was with the boy as he grew up.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - 8:28-34

From the Gospel according to Matthew

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,

two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.

They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.

They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God?

Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"

Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.

The demons pleaded with him,

"If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine."

And he said to them, "Go then!"

They came out and entered the swine,

and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea

where they drowned.

The swineherds ran away,

and when they came to the town they reported everything,

including what had happened to the demoniacs.

Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,

and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

13TH WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mt 8:28-34)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God for today, God the Father, shows His love and power over the children of mankind.

Satan is the opposite of the God of Love. They find every way to oppose Him, including through the torture of human bodies. They seek to tempt people away from the loving arms of God. Therefore, in today’s Word of God, He reminds His children to be alert to Satan’s temptations and not allow their souls to fall into the path of sinful passions that the world offers.

In this new era, God the Father continues to teach His children to find every way to expel Satan from our bodies and souls. To do this, we must run to and call upon the Holy Name of Jesus Christ, God. Only in His power can Satan be cast out and forced to leave the human body.

As today's Word of God shows us, with just one word spoken by Jesus Christ, Satan had departed. Just seeing His shadow, Satan was compelled to bow before His supreme power and majesty, crying out: "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"

Through this image, Satan submitting to God, we are reminded that Satan is an arrogant being who constantly opposes God and is punished by God the Father. Yet even he must submit to the holy name of Jesus.

In contrast, God the Father loves, protects, and preserves humans, who even sacrificed Himself to bring eternal life to humanity.

Today’s Word of God calls us to:

• Always submit to and worship Him alone as the one true God.

• Run to Him for refuge, to be protected from the schemes and tortures of Satan.

• Stay awake and abandon the sinful path on which Satan rages against our bodies.

• Convert our lives and return to make peace with God, saying: “Lord, save my soul from Satan’s captivity.”

• Be humble, simple, and fully trust in God. Call upon His power and love so that He may cast out all demonic forces raging against our bodies.

• Be determined not to follow Satan’s temptations any longer, so that our bodies and souls may once again live joyfully in the love of God the Father.

• Never drive out the God of Love from our bodies and souls, as the people in today’s Gospel drove Him out of their territory. For only He can bring true happiness to people, and only He has the power to expel all evil spirits from our lives.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

19:00 July 2nd, 2025 - Prayer of Divine Mercy - The Way to Heaven