Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: July 31, 2025

Date: Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Scripture Text:  Matthew 13:47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad, they throw away. Thus, it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

"Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes." And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The gospel reading for today offers Jesus’ final parable about the “Kingdom of Heaven” as recounted in Matthew’s 13^th chapter. In this parable, Jesus explains that the good and bad exist side by side in this world, but only the good will be saved; the bad will be thrown away. Then Jesus goes on to explain that the scribes of the future who know the teachings of the law and the prophets (the old) will need to weave that together with the teachings of Jesus (the new) and the life of Jesus which fulfilled the old law and prophets.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Is Christ in my life, in my decisions, in my world?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, throughout the ages, You have shown us the way to a right relationship with You through love and awe. You have called us to goodness and loving lives through the covenants and law and through the voices of the prophets. And when we failed to listen and resisted change, You sent your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to come among us as our brother, human in all ways except sin, to show us “the way and the truth and the life.” Through His teachings and example and most especially His selfless sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary, we are called in a real and profound way to heed your call to live as we are created to live, as your daughters and sons. Send your Spirit to guide us as disciples of Jesus Christ, your Son, to embrace the truth and to follow in His footsteps as we make our way to life in abundance in You. We ask this in the name of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Spirit, one LORD, forever and ever. Amen.