Saturday July 19, 2025

---

“A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory.” (From today’s Gospel reading)

---

Good News Reflection for:

Saturday of the 15th Week of Ordinary Time
July 19, 2025

Today’s Readings:

Exodus 12:37-42
Psalm 136:1, 23-24, 10-12, 13-15
Matthew 12:14-21
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071925.cfm
Podcast:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-july-19-2025

What is Jesus doing about evil today?

Have you been bruised by the weak or nonexistent faith of others? Jesus cares about you, shares your pain, and promises to bring his victory into your situation.

Think of the people who are hurting themselves and others because of their rejection of Christ and/or the true teachings of the Church. Jesus the Just Judge is giving them opportunity after opportunity to turn to him and humbly, genuinely seek the Truth. He promises that his justice will be victorious in getting their attention when they finally admit, even a little, that they need the Truth.

Whose faith is weak? Whose Light of Christ within them has become a smoldering wick because they’ve accepted the false teachings of darkness? Who barely recognizes the fire of the Holy Spirit? Without a lively, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, they won’t be able to recognize deception, propaganda, and beliefs that undermine their faith.

We who burn brightly with the Truth are responsible for participating in the mission of Christ — the mission of bringing his justice to victory, the mission of judging between right and wrong, between truth and deception, so that others can be victorious in overcoming what is evil. We are called to openly judge the false teachings and to proclaim the truth. We’re not judging the sinner — we are judging the beliefs that lead to sin.

Refusing to judge between right and wrong, and between truth and deception — this is the sin of moral relativism. Judging it rightly but hiding our judgments in order to avoid being disliked and persecuted — this is the sin of not caring about the souls of others.

The propaganda of evil has spread far and infiltrated so many lives, and “the smoke of Satan” that’s been permeating the Church (a term that goes back to Pope Saint Paul VI in 1972) has blinded so many; it’s become so thick. Being silent about it has become a dangerous sin of omission.

I’m firmly convinced that we’re currently living in a period of time when God is exposing evil more and more so that more people will recognize evil for what it is and choose to side themselves firmly with Christ. This, by the way, is an answer to all of those Divine Mercy chaplets that have been prayed since Saint Faustina brought it to our attention. God in his great mercy is giving everyone plenty of evidence that evil is indeed evil.

At the same time, he’s raising up in his faithful followers an activation of the Holy Spirit that gives evidence that God is good, he cares about each of us, and he is victorious over evil.

If you’re doing what Jesus calls all of his followers to do — standing up for the truth despite the objectors and persecutors and today’s version of pharisees — you know how Jesus felt in Matthew 12:14-21. And you can proceed with the assurance that he knows how you feel about it!

Developing a thick skin and learning to cope with the ugliness of persecution is more imperative now than ever.

For more on this, read the WordByte, “The truth of your testimony: Are you being persecuted for speaking the truth?” @ wordbytes.org/passion-spirituality/persecuted.

© 2025 by Terry A. Modica

---

 To distribute the Good News Reflections in your church bulletin or in RCIA or faith sharing groups, please contact us.

 You can also receive this & more faith-builders by text message on your phone.

 Keep it going! This reflection reached you thanks to benefactors. Please support this ministry today.

 Post your prayer request.

 How else can we serve you today? Visit our homepage.

Search more reflections in our continually growing database.

Homebound, Prison & Hospital Ministers are invited to print and distribute them without further permission.

Continue your prayer time with these:
Pray with Saints | Pray the Rosary | Other Prayers | Random Quotes.

 

Order and share Terry Modica's books

Socialize with us at: