20TH TUESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Matthew 19:23-30) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mt 19:24)

FIRST READING - Judg 6:11-24a

"Gideon, go and save Israel. Is it not I who send you?"

A reading from the Book of Judges

¹¹ Then the messenger of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. Joash’s son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press to save it from the Midianites, ¹² and the messenger of the Lord appeared to him and said: The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior! ¹³ “My lord,” Gideon said to him, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are his wondrous deeds about which our ancestors told us when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ For now the Lord has abandoned us and has delivered us into the power of Midian.” ¹⁴ The Lord turned to him and said: Go with the strength you have, and save Israel from the power of Midian. Is it not I who send you? ¹⁵ But he answered him, “Please, my Lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.” ¹⁶ The Lord said to him: I will be with you,^[a] and you will cut down Midian to the last man. ¹⁷ He answered him, “If you look on me with favor, give me a sign that you are the one speaking with me. ¹⁸ Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my offering and set it before you.” He answered: I will await your return.

¹⁹ So Gideon went off and prepared a young goat and an ephah^[b] of flour in the form of unleavened cakes. Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out to him under the terebinth and presented them. ²⁰ The messenger of God said to him: Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth. When he had done so, ²¹ the messenger of the Lord stretched out the tip of the staff he held. When he touched the meat and unleavened cakes, a fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes. Then the messenger of the Lord disappeared from sight. ^22 [c]Gideon, now aware that it had been the messenger of the Lord, said, “Alas, Lord God, that I have seen the messenger of the Lord face to face!” ²³ The Lord answered him: You are safe. Do not fear. You shall not die. ²⁴ So Gideon built there an altar to the Lord and called it Yahweh-shalom.^[d] To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY -Mt 19:23-30

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

✠From the Gospel according to Matthew

^23 [a]Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ^25 [b]When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” ²⁷ Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” ^28 [c]Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. ^30 [d]But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

20TH TUESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Matthew 19:23-30)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God in today's Gospel, God teaches everyone what to do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and He tells us what people will gain when they give up everything in the world to follow God.

• The first thing: To enter the Kingdom of God, people must give up everything, such as money, fame, and pleasure, because Satan will use those things to tempt, to entice people to become passionate and heavy-hearted, making it difficult to live according to the teachings of God the Father. Therefore, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, everyone must give up everything in the world, to live completely lightly, freely, and only know how to trust and rely on God.

Jesus reveals, "It will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven." "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” Here, He wants to emphasize to people that they must give up everything in this world to completely live according to God's calls, that is, live with charity and love, dare to give away everything they have, so that God will give them back the wealth of the Kingdom of Heaven in the future.

• The second thing: What will people get when they give up everything in this world to follow God? When the disciples and those who dare to give up everything to follow God, He will give them a worthy reward, the Kingdom of Heaven in the future, and those people will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes. Indeed, the apostles were very happy to be with God to judge the nations when they came before the judgment seat on the final day, and what God had promised, He would fulfill. At the same time, He also gives rewards many times greater than what people have dared to give up, to give away what they have. Because for God, the things of the world are fleeting and easily lost. And the most precious treasure that can never be lost is the Kingdom of Heaven.

In today's Word of God, God invites everyone to live and practice according to His teachings, that is, to have charity and forgiveness, to dare to sacrifice everything belonging to the world so that people will only know how to completely trust and rely on the power and strength of God, to be worthy of receiving from Him the great reward of happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven in the future.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

19:00 August 19, 2025 - Prayer of Divine Mercy - The Way to Heaven