Scripture Reflection - July 6, 2025

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14

Psalm: 66:1-7, 60, 20

Second Reading: Galatians 6:14-18

Gospel: Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Every one of us received our mother’s milk when we were born, be it by nursing from our mother’s breast or from a bottle. We depended on this gift for survival. In the first reading, Isaiah tells us, “nurse and be strong. You have a source of all the nourishment you need. Jerusalem provides the food.” From Jerusalem comes the Word of God, the Word of God in Scripture, the Word of God through Jesus Christ. It is the Word of God that nourishes us each and every day. When we read the Scriptures and contemplate the Sunday readings, we are taking sustenance into our bodies, our minds, and our souls.

The Gospel reiterates the need for God’s nourishment. When the seventy-two were sent out to proclaim the Kingdom, they returned with joy and shared with Jesus their experiences. Jesus tells them that, “he saw satan falling like lightning from the sky.” These nameless seventy-two represent all of us when we are nourished by the word and are made strong. Evil is destroyed. We are filled with limitless joy.

In the days ahead, how will you nourish yourself? How will you allow yourself and others around you to be filled with limitless joy? Reflect on Paul’s letter to the Galatians – his joy, his strength, his boast is our joy, our strength, our boast. Know that Jesus is always with us, giving us joy, courage, and strength to be for others in the same way Jesus is for us.

Be nourished this summer. Blessings.

Sr. Joan Agro, OP