18TH SATURDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Matthew 17:14-20) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you?” (Mt 17:17)

FIRST READING - Dt 6:4-13

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart."

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy

⁴ Hear, O Israel!^[a] The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! ⁵ Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. ⁶ Take to heart these words which I command you today. ⁷ Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Bind them on your arm as a sign^[b] and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁰ When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land which he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give you, a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, ¹¹ with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant; and when, therefore, you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful not to forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that house of slavery. ¹³ The Lord, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve,^[c] and by his name shall you swear.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 17:14-20

"If you have faith, nothing will be impossible for you."

✠From the Gospel according to Matthew

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd a man approached, knelt down before him, ¹⁵ and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic^[a] and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” ¹⁷ Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse^[b] generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,^[c] and from that hour the boy was cured. ¹⁹ Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” ^20 [d]He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

18TH SATURDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Matthew 17:14-20)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God recounts Jesus exorcising and healing a lunatic boy. Afterward, the disciples asked Jesus, 'Why could we not drive it out?” He said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.'

Today's Word of God teaches very coincidentally for people in this new era. That is, when people do not have enough absolute trust in God, Satan will be free to act on that person's body and Satan will not come out of the sick and sinners when the exorcist exorcises them in the name of God. This is a warning that God the Father teaches the children of mankind: when facing the temptations of Satan, do not follow their temptations, but follow the teachings of God the Father, which is to believe that there is only one God the Father, worship Him alone and follow His teachings: to love, forgive, be humble, self-abasement, sacrifice, fast, pray, unite closely with God the Father and be determined to abandon the path of sin, to be determined to worship God the Father alone, who is the only One. If you do so, Satan will be defeated and retreat.

Besides, God the Father also teaches His disciples: when entering into the plan of God the Father, one must have absolute trust in His love. He will bestow all blessings on all those who live and follow the teachings of God the Father. Only those who are humble, self-effacing, obedient to the will of God the Father and have absolute trust in His love, when Satan is cast out of the sick or sinner, Satan will be in pain and will have to leave the soul and body of the sick or sinner. Satan is very cunning; they will examine and find the weak points in the human beings of God's disciples, from there, they will begin to tempt and attack those weak points so that they fall into sin. They will find every way to oppose God's disciples when they go out to work for Him.

Therefore, the Word of God today warns His disciples in this era to be alert to the temptations of Satan. When going out to work for God through the work of exorcising demons and healing the sick and sinners, one must have absolute trust in His love and power, absolute trust in God's presence and use oneself as God's instrument to exorcise demons and heal the sick. If there is still a little doubt, a little hesitation, a little question about God's love and power, Satan will not be afraid. They will not leave the patient. And thus, God will not be able to demonstrate His power over one's own body and soul. This is what God the Father wants His disciples to be alert to.

Next, God the Father teaches everyone in the world today is: be alert, do not give into Satan's temptations anymore. Give them up and reject them by returning to God the Father, reconciling with Him, practicing according to God the Father's teachings, then Satan will no longer have the opportunity to attack and steal our souls.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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