Daily Readings for August 12, 2017

1ST READING

Moses tells the people that trust and faith in God is an all or nothing reality. We must love God with all our heart. The same is still true today. One of the great challenges people face now is how to prioritize their faith over and above their other commitments. We cannot spend our time accumulating the things of the world and then expect to receive the gift of eternal life.

Deuteronomy 6:4-13

4 Moses said to the people: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! 5 Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. 7 Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. 8 Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. 10 “When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that he would give you, a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, 11 with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant; and when, therefore, you eat your fill, 12 take care not to forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 13 The Lord, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear.”

P S A L M

Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R: I love you, Lord, my strength.

1 [2] I love you, O Lord, my strength, 2 [3] O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. (R) My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! 3 [4] Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies. (R) 46 [47] The Lord live! And blessed be my Rock! Extolled be God my savior! 50 [51] You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed, to David and his posterity forever. (R)

GOSPEL

Jesus chastises His disciples a bit. It is good for us to be challenged and called to a deeper faith. There is always more to learn and experience in our walk with Christ if we respond to His grace. We should not expect that a miracle will happen just because we ask God for it. In fact, we should not presume we will always get what we request of God. It is a matter of learning how to entrust all situations to the Lord and allowing His will to be manifest in and through them.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.

Matthew 17:14-20

14 A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, 15 and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. 19 Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”