Daily Catholic Lectio. Wed, 8 July 2026. It Is Near

Daily Catholic Lectio
Wed, 8 July 2026
XIV Week in Ordinary Time
Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12. Mt 10:1-7

It Is Near

(a) Background and Meaning of the First Reading

In today’s first reading, the prophet Hosea announces to the people of Israel: “It is time to seek the Lord.”

Israel had settled in the promised land and had received prosperity and stability. But the more God blessed them, the more they turned towards other gods. Their abundance did not lead them to gratitude. It led them to idolatry.

Hosea presents Israel as a luxuriant vine that produced fruit for itself. The people enjoyed the gifts of God, but they did not remain faithful to the giver. Their hearts became divided.

Their political life and religious life were no longer rooted in the Lord. They built altars and sacred pillars, but these did not bring them closer to God. Instead, they became signs of their unfaithfulness.

Therefore, Hosea uses again the image of agriculture. He says: “Break up for yourselves a new field.” A hardened and uncultivated field cannot receive seed. In the same way, a hardened heart cannot receive the word of God.

The prophet invites the people to prepare their hearts. They must sow justice and reap the fruit of mercy. The time has come to seek the Lord.

This first reading carries a sense of urgency. God’s call cannot be postponed. Conversion cannot be delayed forever. The time to seek the Lord is near. It is now.

(b) Background and Meaning of the Gospel

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls His twelve disciples and gives them authority over unclean spirits and over every disease and every illness.

Earlier, Jesus had seen the crowds troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Now He sends shepherds into the midst of the people. His compassion becomes mission.

The twelve disciples are not sent by their own strength. They are sent with the authority of Jesus. Their mission is to heal, to liberate, and to announce the Kingdom.

Jesus also defines their field of mission. At this stage, they are sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The mission begins with the people who already belong to the covenant but have become scattered and wounded.

The message they must proclaim is simple and urgent: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Kingdom is not far away. It has come near in Jesus. Wherever Jesus heals, forgives, teaches, and gathers the scattered, the Kingdom becomes present.

The disciples are called to announce this nearness. Their words and actions must make people aware that God is close, active, and saving.

(c) Challenges for Life

Both readings speak of nearness and urgency.

In the first reading, Hosea says that the time has come to seek the Lord. In the Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples to proclaim that the Kingdom of heaven is near.

God’s invitation needs an immediate response. We cannot keep postponing conversion, prayer, justice, mercy, and discipleship.

Through Baptism, we too have become disciples of Jesus. We are not only receivers of the Gospel. We are also sent to announce it.

Our homes, communities, workplaces, and relationships are our mission fields. There too, people may be tired, scattered, wounded, or without guidance.

To say “the Kingdom is near” is not only to preach with words. It is to make God’s nearness visible through compassion, forgiveness, truth, service, and justice.

Hosea invites us to break up the hard ground of our hearts. Jesus invites us to go out as disciples. One call is inward: seek the Lord. The other call is outward: announce the Kingdom.

Both calls belong together. Only those who seek the Lord can truly announce His Kingdom. Today, let us remember our calling and our sending. The time to seek the Lord is near. The Kingdom of heaven is near. The moment of response is now.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai

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