July 24, 2026 // Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time // Optional Memorial of Saint Sharbel Makhlūf, Priest
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:18–23
It was the day before Valentine’s Day, and my friends and I gathered in one of their warmly lit kitchens, reminiscing over unwrapped chocolates and fizzing sodas. We started to clean up our mess, and as I pulled open the trash can drawer, I noticed a single rose lying amongst the colorful wrappers and crumpled paper towels. My friend had received it at a show earlier that day and had deemed it too shriveled to put on display. I was sad to see it lying there all alone, so I took it home and placed it in a vase with another bouquet, flower food, and water.
It seemed to draw new strength and life from the surrounding flowers and nourishing food, because the next morning, the bud had reopened to reveal a lush, silken flower. Where we place flowers matters, but where we place ourselves matters even more. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, warning His disciples that where the seed lands determines whether fruit will be borne or squandered: “But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” (Matthew 13:23).
Hearing Scripture is one thing, but to accept it and integrate it into our lives is something else entirely. God has left us Scripture as both a love letter and guide for our lives, but it is not meant to be left on the pages. It is meant to be ever on our lips, evident in our actions, and recited in our thoughts as readily as we recite song lyrics.
Today, as we sit down with our morning coffees and open our dog-eared devotionals, let us remember to place ourselves in the midst of God’s Word. We are not passive readers, but active receivers of Scripture who hear our Lord’s commands and set out at once to do His will.
Relate to the Lord // What word or phrase spoke to you from today’s Mass readings? Meditate on it throughout the day.
