The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the image of God as a loving parent and exhort us to be loving “parents” in our relationship with the people in our communities.
The Reading from the Prophet Hosea presents Disappointment of a Parent in Israel’s response.
* [11:4] I drew them…with bands of love: perhaps a reversal of the yoke imagery of the previous chapter, i.e., not forcing them like draft animals, but drawing them with kindness and affection.
* [11:8] Admah…Zeboiim: cities in the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gn 14:2, 8) and destroyed with them (Gn 19:24–25; Dt 29:22). (Hosea, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 80 complains that God has broken down the wall protecting the once splendid vine brought from Egypt.
* [Psalm 80] A community lament in time of military defeat. Using the familiar image of Israel as a vineyard, the people complain that God has broken down the wall protecting the once splendid vine brought from Egypt (Ps 80:9–14). They pray that God will again turn to them and use the Davidic king to lead them to victory (Ps 80:15–19). (Psalms, PSALM 80 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus exhorts the Twelve to share the Word freely.
* [10:8–11] The Twelve have received their own call and mission through God’s gift, and the benefits they confer are likewise to be given freely. They are not to take with them money, provisions, or unnecessary clothing; their lodging and food will be provided by those who receive them.
* [10:13] The greeting of peace is conceived of not merely as a salutation but as an effective word. If it finds no worthy recipient, it will return to the speaker.
* [10:14] Shake the dust from your feet: this gesture indicates a complete disassociation from such unbelievers. (Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)
Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ, comments that God loves us with affectionate love, no matter how we stray from that relationship. We can ask for the desire to respond in prayer, asking for the grace to be missioned to love, similar to the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled,
as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
May our Lord renew us in an experience of a loving relationship and show us our path in being his disciples in our everyday lives. (Alexander, 2026)
Don Schwager quotes “The gift of power to reign with the Lord,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).
"All the power possessed by the Lord is bestowed upon the apostles! Those who were prefigured in the image and likeness of God in Adam have now received the perfect image and likeness of Christ. They have been given powers in no way different from those of the Lord. Those once earthbound now become heaven-centered. They will proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that the image and likeness of God are now appropriated in the company of truth, so that all the holy ones who have been made heirs of heaven may reign with the Lord. Let them cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out devils. Whatever impairment Adam's body had incurred from being goaded on by Satan, let the apostles wipe away through their sharing in the Lord's power. And that they may fully obtain the likeness of God according to the prophecy in Genesis, they are ordered to give freely what they freely have received (Matthew 10:8). Thus a gift freely bestowed should be freely dispensed." (excerpt from commentary ON MATTHEW 10.4) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that Hosea in the earlier prophecy looked at the relationship between husband and wife in imagery to illustrate the nature of God. Now Hosea offers the relationship between a father and a child as has rescued and taught the people and they worshipped pagan gods in rebellion. Hosea declares the answer of “ I am God not a man”. God is always faithful. Sin means we turn away. Conversion is to turn back again. Jesus sent the apostles on a mission and instructed them not to take anything. Show the Kingdom in works and well as words. Trust the hospitality of those to whom we minister. Friar Jude reminds us Faith is a gift from God and if they have not received it yet, we plant seeds that may not come to fruition in our time. Trust in Providence.
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 10:7-15 comments that we truly are members of a glorious family of faith, coheirs to an inheritance that is kept for us in heaven (1 Peter 1:4). We have received—without cost to us—the good news of salvation and the chance to experience new life in Jesus Christ. This unearned, unpurchased gift is of immeasurable value.
You received your faith without cost—so give it away! Look for a chance to share the good news with someone, and trust God to give you the right words to say. It could be as simple as sharing an insight from Mass with your coworker or asking a friend how you can pray for them. Whatever it is, have confidence that the Lord has anointed you to give what he has freely given you.
“Lord, help me to share your good news today!” (Meditation on Matthew 10:7-15, n.d.)
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, connects righteousness with justice. The peace activist John Dear, who has spent his life working for nonviolence, writes about this beatitude.
How do we hunger and thirst for justice? By making global justice a priority in our lives. This beatitude requires us to join a grassroots movement that fights one or two issues of injustice and to get deeply involved in the struggle. Since all issues of injustice are connected, fighting one injustice puts us squarely in the struggle against every injustice. As Martin Luther King Jr. said over and over again, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Befriend the victims of systemic injustice, side with them, listen to their stories, let their pain break your heart, join the movements to end injustice, tithe your money to the cause, and commit yourself to the struggle….
While [it] may take a long time, our nonviolent persistence and truth-telling will eventually win out and bear the good fruit of justice. Truth is on our side; God is on the side of justice. “The arc of the moral universe is long,” Martin Luther King Jr. said famously, “but it bends toward justice.” [2] (Rohr, n.d.)
We are assured that the Spirit supports and empowers our mission to serve the people on our journey in Jesus Way trusting in Providence.
References
Alexander, A. (2026, July 9). Daily Reflection July 9, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved July 9, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-july-9-2026
Hosea, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hosea/11?
Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?
Meditation on Matthew 10:7-15. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved July 9, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/07/08/1610528/
Psalms, PSALM 80 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved July 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/80?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Thirsting for Justice. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 9, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/thirsting-for-justice/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Freely Have You Received - Freely Give. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 9, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
