Persecution and Promise

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the possibility that tuning to accept the Christian Life will place us in opposition to many of the positions of world politics and power.

Housing as a Promise for Life

The Reading from the Prophet Hosea proclaims Sincere Conversion and New Life.

* [14:1] Samaria: the capital of the Northern Kingdom will fall; this is the punishment predicted for Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom.

* [14:4] These good intentions promise a reversal of Israel’s sins: no more reliance on “Assyria,” i.e., on foreign alliances (see notes on 8:9 and 12:2), on “horses,” i.e., on human power (10:13), and on idolatry (8:4–6; 13:2). Israel will trust in the Lord alone.

* [14:9] Verdant cypress tree: the symbol of lasting life, the opposite of the sacred trees of the Baal cult (4:13). The Lord provides the “fruit” (peri) to Israel (2:7, 10), another instance of the wordplay on Ephraim (see notes on 9:16 and 13:15).

* [14:10] A challenge to the reader in the style of the wisdom literature. (Hosea, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 51 prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought.

* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]). (Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warns His followers of Coming Persecutions.

* [10:17] The persecutions attendant upon the post-resurrection mission now begin to be spoken of. Here Matthew brings into the discourse sayings found in Mk 13 which deals with events preceding the parousia.

* [10:21] See Mi 7:6 which is cited in Mt 10:35, 36.

* [10:22] To the end: the original meaning was probably “until the parousia.” But it is not likely that Matthew expected no missionary disciples to suffer death before then, since he envisages the martyrdom of other Christians (Mt 10:21). For him, the end is probably that of the individual’s life (see Mt 10:28).

* [10:23] Before the Son of Man comes: since the coming of the Son of Man at the end of the age had not taken place when this gospel was written, much less during the mission of the Twelve during Jesus’ ministry, Matthew cannot have meant the coming to refer to the parousia. It is difficult to know what he understood it to be: perhaps the “proleptic parousia” of Mt 28:16–20, or the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, viewed as a coming of Jesus in judgment on unbelieving Israel. (Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Michele Bogard reminds us that our work as followers of Christ is always ongoing and incomplete. She shares the prayer below with students who are unsatisfied with their efforts not taking off immediately. 

A Prayer of Oscar Romero by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders;
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future that is not our own. (Bogard, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes The Spirit of your heavenly Father speaks through you in every age, by Augustine of Hippo.

"To be sure, we heard in that reading, 'But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you are to speak... for it is not you who are speaking but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you.' And he says in another place: 'Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world' (Matthew 28:20). Does this mean that the people who heard those words of the Lord would be here until the end of the world? The Lord was referring, rather, not only to those about to depart from this life but also to the others, including us and those who would come after us in this life. He saw everyone in his single body, and the words he spoke, 'I am with you even to the end of the world,' were heard by them and by us too. And if we did not hear them then in our knowledge, we heard them in his foreknowledge. Therefore, safe as sheep among the wolves, let us keep the commandments of him who directs us. And let us be 'innocent as doves but cautious as snakes' (Matthew 10:16). Innocent as doves that we may not harm anyone; cautious as snakes that we may be careful of letting anyone harm us." (excerpt from the Sermon 44a.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Hosea uses an image of turning away from God as a description for sin. He urges people to turn again to God to be able to accept God when they recognize their sin. Jesus' message in the Gospel of Matthew is to Trust in God depend upon God for everything. Jesus sends the apostle to proclaim the Gospel. They will be rejected and Matthew writing in 80 CE is witness to persecutions that have occurred in the community even by family and in one town after the other. Friar Jude comments on whether Jesus expected the world to end very soon. Only the Father knows the time of the “parousia”. It is difficult to know what Matthew understood it to be, perhaps the “proleptic parousia”. We pay a price for living a Christian life opposed and rejected by some.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 10:16-23 comments that In today’s Gospel, as He prepares to send His disciples out to proclaim the good news, He tells them, “I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves” (Matthew 10:16). That’s a lot of similes! So let’s look at each of them to understand Jesus’ words a little better.

Trusting as sheep. Shrewd as serpents. Simple as doves. These are the qualities that make for effective missionary disciples. They don’t all come naturally, but they do come as we practice them. They come as we step out in faith and try our best to share our faith in the Lord. So don’t give up! Jesus has called you to proclaim his gospel; and if he has called you, he will empower you!

“Lord, teach me how to share your great good news!” (Meditation on Matthew 10:16-23, n.d.)

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces author Debie Thomas who reflects on the many ways the Beatitudes have been understood and what she believes the Beatitudes are not.

The Beatitudes are not sentiments.

They are meant to startle us awake… Yes, they are pastoral, and yes, they give us hope. But Christian hope is not a sedative. Christian hope gets us up and out the door.

The Beatitudes are not to-do items. 

They are not suggestions, instructions, commandments, or quid pro quos… There is nothing transactional about them, nothing that smacks of a “should,” a “must,” or an “ought.”

The Beatitudes are not shame tactics.

The takeaway Jesus intends for his listeners is neither shame nor self-condemnation. The last thing Jesus’s Beatitudes should do is defeat us.

The Beatitudes are not permission slips for passivity.

There is nothing in the Beatitudes that excuses injustice, nothing that relativizes abuse, nothing that frees us to tell suffering people that their suffering is God-ordained and redemptive.

Jesus acts. He doesn’t simply speak blessing; he lives it. Through his words, his hands, his feet, his life, he brings about the very blessings he promises. Insisting that pain in and of itself is neither holy nor redemptive in the Christian story, Jesus works to bring healing, abundance, liberation, and joy to everyone who crosses his path.

This is the vocation we are called to. The work of sharing the blessings we enjoy is not the work of a distant someday. It is the work we’re called to now. The Beatitudes remind us that blessing and justice are inextricably linked. If it's a blessing we want, then it’s justice we must pursue. (Rohr, n.d.)

We ask the Spirit to strengthen our resolve to be disciples of Christ as we turn to the mission of bringing the Life of Christ to our daily interactions with the community.

References

Bogard, M. (2026, July 10). Daily Reflection July 10, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved July 10, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-july-10-2026 

Hosea, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved July 10, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hosea/14?2 

Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved July 10, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?16 

Meditation on Matthew 10:16-23. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved July 10, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/07/10/1611592/ 

Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 10, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51? 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). What the Beatitudes Are Not. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 10, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/what-the-beatitudes-are-not/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Sheep in the Midst of Wolves - Wise and Innocent. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 10, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Walk with Word and Sacrament

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the New Life that we experience when walking with friends on our path to His Way.

Walk in Contemplation

In the Reading from the Book of Acts, Peter teaches the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic import.

* [2:14–36] The first of six discourses in Acts (along with Acts 3:12–26; 4:8–12; 5:29–32; 10:34–43; 13:16–41) dealing with the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic import. Five of these are attributed to Peter, the final one to Paul. Modern scholars term these discourses in Acts the “kerygma,” the Greek word for proclamation (cf. 1 Cor 15:11).

* [2:33] At the right hand of God: or “by the right hand of God.” (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 16 reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God.

* [Psalm 16] In the first section, the psalmist rejects the futile worship of false gods (Ps 16:2–5), preferring Israel’s God (Ps 16:1), the giver of the land (Ps 16:6). The second section reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God (Ps 16:7–11).

* [16:1] Miktam: a term occurring six times in Psalm superscriptions, always with “David.” Its meaning is unknown.

* [16:10] Nor let your devout one see the pit: Hebrew shahath means here the pit, a synonym for Sheol, the underworld. The Greek translation derives the word here and elsewhere from the verb shahath, “to be corrupt.” On the basis of the Greek, Acts 2:25–32; 13:35–37 apply the verse to Christ’s resurrection, “Nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.” (Psalms, PSALM 16, n.d.)

The reading from the First Letter of Peter presents Reverence for God calling us to mutual love.

* [1:13–25] These verses are concerned with the call of God’s people to holiness and to mutual love by reason of their redemption through the blood of Christ (1 Pt 1:18–21).

* [1:19] Christians have received the redemption prophesied by Isaiah (Is 52:3), through the blood (Jewish symbol of life) of the spotless lamb (Is 53:7, 10; Jn 1:29; Rom 3:24–25; cf. 1 Cor 6:20). (1 Peter, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke proclaims Jesus Appearance on the Road to Emmaus

* [24:1–53] The resurrection narrative in Luke consists of five sections: (1) the women at the empty tomb (Lk 23:56b–24:12); (2) the appearance to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Lk 24:13–35); (3) the appearance to the disciples in Jerusalem (Lk 24:36–43); (4) Jesus’ final instructions (Lk 24:44–49); (5) the ascension (Lk 24:50–53). In Luke, all the resurrection appearances take place in and around Jerusalem; moreover, they are all recounted as having taken place on Easter Sunday. A consistent theme throughout the narrative is that the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus were accomplished in fulfillment of Old Testament promises and of Jewish hopes (Lk 24:19a, 21, 26–27, 44, 46). In his second volume, Acts, Luke will argue that Christianity is the fulfillment of the hopes of Pharisaic Judaism and its logical development (see Acts 24:10–21).

* [24:13–35] This episode focuses on the interpretation of scripture by the risen Jesus and the recognition of him in the breaking of the bread. The references to the quotations of scripture and explanation of it (Lk 24:25–27), the kerygmatic proclamation (Lk 24:34), and the liturgical gesture (Lk 24:30) suggest that the episode is primarily catechetical and liturgical rather than apologetic.

* [24:13] Seven miles: literally, “sixty stades.” A stade was 607 feet. Some manuscripts read “160 stades” or more than eighteen miles. The exact location of Emmaus is disputed.

* [24:16] A consistent feature of the resurrection stories is that the risen Jesus was different and initially unrecognizable (Lk 24:37; Mk 16:12; Jn 20:14; 21:4).

* [24:26] That the Messiah should suffer…: Luke is the only New Testament writer to speak explicitly of a suffering Messiah (Lk 24:26, 46; Acts 3:18; 17:3; 26:23). The idea of a suffering Messiah is not found in the Old Testament or in other Jewish literature prior to the New Testament period, although the idea is hinted at in Mk 8:31–33. See notes on Mt 26:63 and 26:67–68.

* [24:36–43, 44–49] The Gospel of Luke, like each of the other gospels (Mt 28:16–20; Mk 16:14–15; Jn 20:19–23), focuses on an important appearance of Jesus to the Twelve in which they are commissioned for their future ministry. As in Lk 24:6, 12, so in Lk 24:36, 40 there are omissions in the Western text.

* [24:39–42] The apologetic purpose of this story is evident in the concern with the physical details and the report that Jesus ate food. (Luke, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Jim Caime, SJ, comments that along the road, the disciples speak of all that has happened. They tell their story. They have already heard from others—the women told us…—and still, they could not believe it. The truth was not absent. It had already been spoken, already shared, already alive among them. But they could not yet receive it.

How often is it the same for us?

We do not listen because we think we already know. We do not listen because we assume we bring the truth. We do not listen because we struggle to trust the voices speaking to us.

And still, Jesus draws near. Not to replace what is there, but to open it, to reveal it, to let it be seen.

Only later do they recognize what had been happening all along:

Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way?

Perhaps the question for us is not whether God is speaking.

But where—already—has something stirred, something warmed, something quietly begun?

And have we been listening? (Caime, n.d.)

Rev. Jim introduces a poem, Old Maps No Longer Work, by Sr. Joyce Rupp as a gentle companion for your prayerful reflection. 

Don Schwager quotes “The Easter Alleluia,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Now therefore, brethren, we urge you to praise God. That is what we are all telling each other when we say Alleluia. You say to your neighbor, "Praise the Lord!" and he says the same to you. We are all urging one another to praise the Lord, and all thereby doing what each of us urges the other to do. But see that your praise comes from your whole being; in other words, see that you praise God not with your lips and voices alone, but with your minds, your lives and all your actions." (excerpt from commentary on Psalm 148) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 24:13-35 invites us to notice how the story of the two disciples meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus looks a lot like the way we meet Jesus at every Mass.

The next time you’re at Mass, imagine that Cleopas and his companion are with you. Share their excitement as, throughout the liturgy, your heart begins to burn with love as you come to recognize Jesus, present in the breaking of the bread.

“Jesus, thank you for making yourself known to me!” (Meditation on Luke 24:13-35, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that in Acts the kerygma, or first teaching, that Peter proclaimed in Jerusalem is a very Jewish form of reminding them of how the history of David is linked to Jesus. Luke understood that David wrote all the Psalms. Recently scholarship indicates that many are only dedicated to David. The First Letter of Peter speaks of being brought back to show how much God has loved us in existence in all eternity. Franciscan theology presents that Jesus was coming to be part of our condition and healing our flaw was a consequence of His Incarnation. In Dominican theology, the healing of our flaws is more of Jesus' purpose than a consequence. In the second resurrection narrative, in the Gospel of Luke, Cleopas and the unnamed companion who likely is not his wife (as Luke often refers females to by name), are caught up in their own thoughts. In all three narratives in Luke, Jesus explains the events as part of God’s plan. This fits the philosophic outlook of Luke, as a Stoic, the events of Jesus' life were always planned. The disciples recognize Him in the breaking of the bread. Friar Jude comments on the resonance we have with the disciples in the experience of “Didn’t our hearts burn as they encountered Jesus in Word and Sacrament.”

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, encourages us to recognize how the soul of nature mirrors our own.

When God manifests spirit through matter, then matter becomes a holy thing. The material world is the place where we can comfortably worship God just by walking in it, loving it, and respecting it. Everything visible, without exception, is the outpouring of God. What else could it really be? When we can enjoy all these things as holy, “we experience the universe as a communion of subjects, not as a collection of objects,” as the “geologian” Fr. Thomas Berry said so wisely. [2]

When we love something, we grant it soul, we see its soul, and we let its soul touch ours. We must love something deeply to know its soul (anima). Before the resonance of love, we are largely inattentive to the meaning, value, and power of ordinary things to “save” us and help us live in union with the Source of all being. In fact, until we can appreciate and even delight in the soul of other things, even trees and animals, we probably haven’t discovered our own souls either. Soul knows soul through love, which Jesus teaches as the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37–39). [3] (Rohr, n.d.)

As the Season of Spring slowly arrives, let us respond to the invitation of the Spirit to walk in solitude or the company of close friends along paths in Nature where we are open to the universal call of mutual love for all Creation.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/2?14 

Caime, J. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-april-19-2026 

Luke, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/24?13 

Meditation on Luke 24:13-35. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/04/19/1546454/ 

1 Peter, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1peter/1?17 

Psalms, PSALM 16. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/16?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Soul and the Natural World. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/soul-and-the-natural-world/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Did Not Our Hearts Burn While He Opened to Us the Scriptures. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/