July 31, 2026 // Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58

Reflect on the Word // 

On our usual morning walk and in the middle of a long conversation, I asked my friend, half-jokingly, “Why do you always have to be the bad girl?” 

“I don’t know,” she fired back,“why do you always have to be the good girl?” 

Her words caught me off guard, lodging in my mind like an arrow. I felt exposed. There was an uncomfortable truth in her question, and it stung to hear it, especially from someone I knew so well. 

I place myself in the scene of today’s Gospel and soon recognize my tendency to take offense at the prophet or “truth-speaker” (see Matthew 13:57), especially when it’s someone I think I know well. Who are the prophets I am tempted to dismiss because I know all about them and presume they could have nothing to teach me? Am I missing out on the mighty works God wants to do in me because I don’t believe He speaks through those closest to me? 

When I bring my questions to Jesus, He assures me that as I keep coming to Him, he will help me to receive His truth always. I need not hide. He sees every part of me. Under the gaze of His love, I can admit to Him my failings and weaknesses. His love burns away the false ideal of  “good girl”  that I’ve tried to portray. What remains is a woman with both strengths and weaknesses, one who, having received God’s mercy anew, is more free to live as a beloved child of God and hear the truth from whomever He sends.

Sister, we are not so different from the residents of Jesus’ native place. And just as He wanted to teach and heal them, Jesus wants to transform our hearts. Are we willing to ask Him for the grace to receive it when someone close to us speaks a truth that stings?

Relate to the Lord // Ask Jesus to help you be open to the truth about yourself. When you feel ready, ask Him to give you the grace to receive it.