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Daily Gospel - Monday, July 7, 2025 - Matthew 9:18-26 - Catholic Bible
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Jul 7, 2025
Welcome to our daily encounter with the Word of God! Today’s readings come from the Book of Genesis (Genesis 28:10-22a) and the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 9:18-26). These passages invite us to experience the powerful presence of God—through dreams, through Jesus, and through faith that restores life and hope. First Reading (Genesis 28:10-22a): We follow Jacob on his journey to Haran. While resting in the wilderness, he dreams of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending, and God speaking to him, renewing the covenant made with Abraham. Upon waking, Jacob is in awe and declares, “Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I didn’t know it.” He sets up a stone as an altar and names the place Bethel, meaning "House of God". This reminds us that God reveals Himself even in our deserts and transforms the ordinary into sacred ground. Gospel (Matthew 9:18-26): In the Gospel, two people approach Jesus in deep faith: a leader begging for his dead daughter, and a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years. Jesus responds to both with compassion and healing. The woman is healed simply by touching His garment with faith, and the girl is brought back to life with His word. These miracles show us that true faith opens the way for divine restoration. Reflection and Call to Living Faith Today, we’re invited to trust in God’s presence and power. Like Jacob, let us open our eyes to the Lord around us. Like the woman and the leader, let us come to Jesus with faith, believing that He still heals and restores today. Share in the comments how you’ve experienced God's presence in your own wilderness. What message touched your heart the most today? 📖 Readings of the Day: First Reading: Genesis 28:10-22a Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26
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[Music]
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Reading from the book of Genesis. Jacob
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left Beer Sheba and went toward Haron.
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When he reached a certain place, he
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wanted to spend the night there because
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the sun had set. He took one of the
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stones from the place and made it his
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pillow and fell asleep there. In a
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dream, he saw a ladder resting on the
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ground with its other end reaching to
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heaven. And the angels of God were
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ascending and descending on it. The Lord
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stood at the top of the stairs and said
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to him, "I am the Lord, the God of your
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father Abraham, and the God of Isaac.
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The land on which you are sleeping, I
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will give to you and to your
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descendants. Your descendants will be
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like the dust of the earth, and you will
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spread out to the west and to the east,
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to the north and to the south. All the
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nations of the earth will be blessed in
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you and in your descendants. I am with
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you and will keep you wherever you go.
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and I will bring you back to this land.
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I will never abandon you until I have
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done what I have promised you." When
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Jacob woke up, he said, "Surely the Lord
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is in this place, and I did not know
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it." He was filled with terror and said,
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"How awesome is this place? This must be
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the house of God and the gate of
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heaven." Early in the morning, Jacob got
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up and took the stone he had used as a
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pillow and set it up as a pillar,
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pouring oil on it. He named the place
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Bethl, but the city was formerly called
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LSE. Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God
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will be with me and will protect me on
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this journey, giving me bread to eat and
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clothes to wear, and if I return safely
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to my father's house, then the Lord will
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be my God." 22a And this stone, which I
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have set up as a sacred pillar, will be
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a dwelling place for God. The word of
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the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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[Music]
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Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St. Matthew. Glory
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to you, Lord. While Jesus was speaking,
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an official came forward, knelt down
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before him, and said, "My daughter has
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just died. But come, lay your hand on
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her, and she will live." Jesus got up
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and followed him along with his
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disciples. Just then, a woman who had
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been suffering from hemorrhages for 12
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years came up behind him and touched the
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hem of his cloak. She thought to
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herself, "If I can just touch his cloak,
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I will be healed." Jesus turned and saw
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her and said, "Take courage, daughter.
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Your faith has saved you." And the woman
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was healed from that moment. When he
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came to the officials house, Jesus saw
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the flute players and the crowd making a
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commotion. Go away, he said, for the
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girl is not dead, but sleeping. And they
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began to mock him. When the crowd had
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gone away, Jesus went in and took the
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girl by the hand, and she got up. And
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this news spread throughout that whole
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region. The word of the Savior. Glory to
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you, Lord.
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[Music]
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
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imagine yourself traveling down a
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lonely, dusty road with the sun setting
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on the horizon and darkness fast
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approaching. You are tired, hungry,
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carrying on your back the weight of
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difficult decisions and an uncertain
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future. There is no hotel in sight, just
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rocks and barren terrain. You resign
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yourself to sleeping outside using a
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rock as a pillow. But then in the middle
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of the night, something extraordinary
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happens. The sky opens up and you see a
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vision that will forever change your
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understanding of who you are and where
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you are going. This is exactly the
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situation we find Jacob in our first
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reading today. He is running. Running
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from the wrath of his brother, Esau,
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running from the consequences of his
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questionable choices. running from a
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past that haunts him. Jacob, whose name
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means the one who overcomes, had lived a
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life marked by manipulation and
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deception. But it is precisely at this
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moment of vulnerability when Jacob is
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most alone and helpless that God chooses
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to reveal himself to him. What a
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profound lesson there is here. God does
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not wait for us to be perfect, to have
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our lives completely organized, to be at
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our best in order to meet with us. On
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the contrary, he often reveals himself
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in the most difficult moments when we
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feel lost and helpless. Behold, a ladder
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was set up on the earth and its top
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reached to heaven, and lo, the angels of
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God were ascending and descending on it.
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What an extraordinary sight. This ladder
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is not just a poetic image. It is a
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profound revelation about the nature of
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God and his relationship with us. The
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latter represents the connection between
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heaven and earth, between the divine and
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the human. It shows us that we are not
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isolated in our earthly existence, but
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that there is a constant communication
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between our world and the heavenly
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world. The angels ascending and
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descending symbolize this divine
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communication. The prayers that go up
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and the blessings that come down. But
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most strikingly, God is at the top of
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the ladder. Not distant and
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inaccessible, but present and speaking
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directly to Jacob. I am the Lord, the
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God of Abraham, your father, and the God
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of Isaac. God identifies himself not
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only as the Almighty God, but as the God
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of his family, the God of his
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inheritance. And then comes the promise,
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the land on which you lie, to you I will
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give it, and to your descendants after
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you. What divine irony. Jacob is lying
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on what seems like inhospitable ground,
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using a stone as a pillow, feeling
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abandoned, and God promises him that
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this land will be his inheritance. How
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many times in our lives have we found
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ourselves in similar moments? Maybe you
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are going through a financial crisis,
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sleeping restlessly with worries about
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how to pay the bills. Or maybe you are
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struggling with health problems, feeling
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as though you are lying on rocky ground.
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Or they may be struggling with broken
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relationships, feeling like Jacob,
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running away from the consequences of
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their own choices. But today's message
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is clear. It is precisely in these
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moments that God is closest. When we
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awaken from our spiritual slumber, like
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Jacob, we discover that surely the Lord
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is in this place and I did not know it.
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God continues his promise to Jacob.
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Behold, I am with you and will keep you
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wherever you go. What a powerful
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assurance. It is not a promise of an
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easy life, but of constant presence. It
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is not a guarantee of the absence of
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problems, but of divine companionship in
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the midst of challenges. Jacob wakes up
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transformed. He takes the stone that
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served as his pillow and sets it up as a
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landmark, pouring oil on it. That stone
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which represented discomfort and
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hardness now becomes an altar, a sacred
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place of encounter with God. And he
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renames the place Bethl which means
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house of God. What an extraordinary
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transformation. What seemed like a place
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of desolation becomes a holy place. What
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was just a force stop on a journey of
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escape becomes a transformative
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encounter with the divine. Moving on to
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our gospel, we find Jesus on the move
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going from Matthew's house to other
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urgent needs. And it is here that two
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stories intertwine in a masterful way,
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both speaking of faith in moments of
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despair. First, a synagogue leader
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approaches Jesus. Imagine the humility
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required for this act. As a religious
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leader, he had status and reputation to
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uphold, but his daughter was dead. In
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the face of death, all social and
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religious barriers crumble. He
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prostrates himself before Jesus and
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makes a request that goes beyond any
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human understanding. My daughter has
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just died, but come lay your hand on her
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and she will live. What extraordinary
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faith. He is not asking for healing for
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someone who is sick. He is asking for
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resurrection for someone who has already
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died. This is the faith that moves
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mountains, that transforms
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impossibilities into realities. But as
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Jesus walks toward the house of the
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synagogue leader, something happens that
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adds even more depth to our
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understanding of faith. A woman who has
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been suffering from hemorrhages for 12
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years approaches from behind and touches
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the hem of Jesus cloak. Think about this
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woman's situation. 12 years of
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suffering. 12 years of spending money on
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doctors who could not help her. 12 years
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of social isolation because her
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condition made her ritually impure. 12
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years of deferred hope, of shattered
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dreams, but she had heard of Jesus. And
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in the midst of the crowd, she makes an
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act of desperate faith. If I just touch
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his garment, I will be healed. What
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intimate personal faith. She does not
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seek a public or dramatic healing. Only
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a secret touch, a quiet encounter with
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divine power. And Jesus realizing that
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the power has gone out of him turns and
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seeks her out. When she confesses what
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she has done, Jesus does not rebuke her
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for her boldness. Instead, he calls her
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daughter and declares, "Your faith has
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healed you." Here we have a profound
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lesson about the nature of faith. It is
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not just about grand public gestures or
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dramatic statements. Sometimes it is the
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quiet touch, the whisper of the heart,
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the discreet gesture of those who seek
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God in the midst of despair. Jesus then
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continues his journey to the house of
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the synagogue leader where he finds an
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environment of mourning and despair. The
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people laugh when he says that the girl
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is not dead but sleeping. But Jesus
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taking her by the hand raises her from
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the dead. What a powerful contrast
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between these two stories. A woman who
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has suffered for 12 years is instantly
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healed by her faith. A girl who has died
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is brought back to life by the power of
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Jesus. Both stories speak to us of God's
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ability to transform impossible
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situations. My dear brothers and
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sisters, today we are invited to reflect
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on our own faith. Where are the stones
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in our lives that need to be transformed
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into altars? What are the places of
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discomfort and difficulty that can
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become Bethl's houses of God? Perhaps
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you are facing a seemingly impossible
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situation such as the death of the
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synagogue leader's daughter. Or perhaps
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you are dealing with prolonged suffering
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such as the woman's hemorrhage. In both
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cases, the message is the same. God is
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present even when we don't realize it.
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Like Jacob, we may be at times in our
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lives when we feel lost, running away
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from our responsibilities or the
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consequences of our choices. But it is
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precisely in these moments that God
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reveals himself to us. He does not
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expect us to be perfect. He meets us in
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our vulnerability. Jacob's latter
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reminds us that there is a constant
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connection between heaven and earth,
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between our needs and God's provision.
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Angels are ascending and descending,
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carrying our prayers and bringing divine
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answers. And like the women in the
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gospel, we are called to a faith that
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goes beyond human logic. A faith that
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believes in healing when medicine fails,
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in resurrection when death seems final,
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in hope when circumstances scream
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despair. May we, like Jacob, wake up
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with a new understanding of God's
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presence in our lives. May we say with
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conviction, surely the Lord is in this
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place, and I did not know it. And may we
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transform our moments of difficulty into
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altars of worship, recognizing that God
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is with us every step of the way. May
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the faith of the woman with the
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hemorrhage inspire us to seek Jesus even
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in the midst of the crowd, even when we
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feel insignificant. And may the faith of
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the synagogue leader encourage us to
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believe in the impossible. To trust that
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Jesus can bring life where there is
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death, hope where there is despair. May
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the God of Jacob, the God of Abraham and
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Isaac, the God who raises the dead and
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heals the sick, be our God today and
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always. May he watch over us wherever we
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go. And may we always find our home, our
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Bethl in his presence. And may the grace
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of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of
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God the Father, and the fellowship of
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the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
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[Music]
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St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in
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battle. Be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil. May
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God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do
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thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by
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the power of God, cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
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souls. Amen.
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[Music]