Sunday Daily TV Mass Sunday July 26, 2026

Fr. Michael Coutts, S.J.

Transcript

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From the St. Ignatius Chapel at the Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Center in Pickering, Ontario. The National Catholic Broadcasting Council presents the Sunday TV Mass.

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In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, the friendship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And with your spirit. Welcome to the celebration of the Sunday TV Mass on the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. I am Father Michael Coots. The televising of this Mass is made possible by a contribution from Sylvia and Helen from Orangeville, Ontario. This Mass is being offered in Thanksgiving for the Daily TV Mass, for their living and deceased friends and members of their family, especially in loving memory of their father, their mother and father, Pauline and Stanley. Our thanks to Sylvia and Helen for making it possible for tens of thousands of faithful across Canada, the USA, and around the world to share in this celebration. In 2021, Pope Francis established the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of July, near the feasts of St. Joachim and Saint Anna, honoring the grandparents of Jesus. That feast is on the 26th of July. For all grandparents and the elderly, that they may be blessed with good health, peace, and joy, as they continue to share their wisdom, their faith, and their love for their family and communities, and for those who have died, that they may have rest and peace of Christ. And now as we prepare to celebrate this Eucharist, we ask the Lord to forgive us. You were sent to heal the contrite, Lord, have mercy. You came to call sinners Christ have mercy. You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Lord, have mercy. May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life. Let us praise God as we say, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you. We give you thanks for your great glory. Lord God, Heavenly King, O God Almighty Father, Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us, you take away the sin of the world, receive our prayer. You are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Let us pray. O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation and nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us, and grant that with you as our ruler and guide we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those things that endure through Christ our Lord.

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Amen.

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A reading from the first book of Kings. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what I should give you. And Solomon said, You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. Although I am only a little child, I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil. For who can govern this your great people? It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself a long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I do I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind. No one like you has been before, and no one like you shall arise after you. The word of the Lord.

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Let your mercy come to me that I may live, for your law is my dear, Lord. Truly I love your commandments more than gold, more than fine gold. Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts. I hate every false way. Lord how I love your law.

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In order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters, and those whom God predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and those whom he justified, he also glorified. The word of the Lord.

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Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.

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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew. Jesus spoke to the crowds: the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. On finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind. When it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good in baskets, but threw out the bad. The Gospel of the Lord. Last week we had three parables to describe God's patience and merciful kindness. They were the parables of the wheat and weeds, the parable of the mustard seed, and the parable of the yeast or leaven in the flower. This week we have three more parables to deal with the treasures, and one deals with the cashing of fish. We often look to scripture scholars to get an understanding of scriptures, or we expect our parish priest to unfold the word of God to us. But each one of you listening or reading the gospel of today can give an authentic interpretation of the parables. There is only one standard to be kept. It is the same standard of Jesus. He constantly challenged his listeners and gave comfort to those who were troubled. In a word, the teachings of Jesus comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable. If our interpretation of these parables does precisely this, then we are on the right track. The three parables of this Sunday have to do with a prayer that we make each day when we say the Our Father. It has to do with your kingdom come. As we reflect on the king coming of the kingdom, we must keep two things in mind. In the first place, no one can earn, buy, or sell the kingdom of God. So it is mildly heretical to sing that hymn, let us build the city of God. It's a beautiful hymn, but nevertheless, it's a hymn that we sing. A bit heretical. In the second place, the kingdom of God is a pure gift from God. Our efforts lie in preparing ourselves to receive this gift. And in this light, we consider the parables. The first parable, a man who discovers by accident a treasure in a field. He covers the treasure and then buys the land. It is a rather dubious transaction, don't you think so? He does not have a moral right to dig in someone else's ground. The second is a merchant who searches and finds a treasure. Where he finds the treasure is totally immaterial. The first treasure is by accident. The second treasure is by searching. Would we judge these two men as good or bad? Whatever the evaluation in our minds, both of them would fit in the third parable. It is the parable of the net which is thrown into the water and brings all types of fish, some good, some bad. Some are edible and very tasty, others must be cast away. The kingdom of God is open to all. It is precisely like this net. The choice is ours, whether to enter or not. The rest is a pure gift of God. This brings us to our first reading: the choice of Solomon. God has planted in our minds, in our hearts, in our consciences, the compass to make the right choice. Solomon was given a choice. It seemed like a fairy tale, Aladin and the Magic Lamp. Solomon could very well have chosen, like many of us would do, wealth and victory over his enemies. Life is tough, and if some barriers could be removed, it would benefit all of us. Wealth and victory were the main goalposts in the time of David and Solomon, and they are the same targets for us today. We dream how we would spend the winnings of Lotter 649 or max millions if we won it. We would pay off debts, we would buy a car, we would give up our day job, we would send our kids to the university. We would pay off the mortgages on our own house and the mortgages of children. We do this even when we haven't bought the ticket, we dream these dreams. My friends promised me I will make a big donation to the church when I win the lottery. Under my breath, I sing Buddy Holly's song, That Will Be the Day. Some of them don't even buy tickets and they make the promise. For few of us, we would thank God for peace of mind that we enjoy, the job I work when so many are unemployed, happy children with their real problems and some imaginary problems. As the AA members would say with Solomon, give me a serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. So what is the wisdom that we have today? Is it the wisdom that we get from getting a PhD or we call people wise because they are profitable in business? Or do we have the wisdom that simply says, I am skilled in everyday work? The wisdom in the gospel and in the Bible is somebody who can do things with their hands. But all these wisdoms, when they are put together, is a sheer gift from God. When God solves your problems, you have faith in his ability. When God does not have solve your problems, then God has faith in your abilities. And for this gift and for the wisdom that God gives us, may we truly be blessed and give praise and glory to God and say once again, like the treasure, your kingdom come, your will be done. God bless you all. Would you join me now as we make our act of faith? I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. Join me now as we pray together. For all those in our daily TV Mass Prayer Intention book, we pray to the Lord. As a community of prayer, let us give thanksgiving thanks for grandparents and elders like St. Joachim and Anne, who nurture faith and family across generations with quiet strength. We pray to the Lord. For Pope Leo's intention for the month of July, let us pray that we may again learn how to discern, to know how to choose paths of life, and reject everything that leads us away from Christ and the gospel. We pray to the Lord. Lord, grant food and shelter to those who lack food today, and peace and charity to those who are fortunate enough to enjoy those gifts. Amen. Accept, O Lord, we pray the offerings which we bring from the abundance of your gifts, that through the powerful working of your grace, these most sacred mysteries may sanctify our present way of life and lead us to eternal gladness. We make this prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

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Amen.

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The Lord be with you.

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And with your spirit.

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Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right and just truly right and just our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere, to give you thanks. Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Eternal God, through Christ our Lord. For by his birth he brought renewal to humanity's fallen state, and by his suffering cancelled out our sins. By his rising from the dead, he has opened the way to eternal life. And by ascending to you, our Father, he has unlocked the gates of heaven. And so in the company of angels and saints we proclaim your glory as with one voice we acclaim.

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Holy, holy Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosann in the highest Hosanne in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

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You are indeed holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness. Make holy, therefore, these gifts by sending down your spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion, he took bread, and giving you thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you. In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice, once more giving thanks. He gave the chalice to his disciples, saying, Take this, all of you, and drink from it. A chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me.

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The mystery of faith.

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When we eat this breath and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.

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Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the bread of life and the chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you. Humbly we pray that partaking of the body and blood of Christ, we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, your church spread throughout the world and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with Leo, our Pope, Francis, our bishop, all the clergy, and this entire people of God. Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy. Welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with Blessed Joseph a spouse, with the blessed apostles, with Saint Joachim and Saint Anna, and all the saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be co-heirs to eternal life and praise and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ.

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Through him, with him and in him, O God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours forever and ever. Amen.

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At the Savior's command, informed by divine teaching, we now dare to say, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us, Lord, from every evil. Graciously grant peace in our day, that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope, the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The kingdom, the power, and glory are yours now and forever. Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles, peace I leave you, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church, and graciously grant a peace and union according to your will, who live and reign forever and ever. The peace of the Lord be with you always.

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And with your spirit.

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Let us share with one another a sign of this peace and friendship.

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You take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on us. Grant us peace.

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Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed. May the body and blood of Christ bring us an all our dear ones unto life everlasting.

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My Jesus, I believe that you are present in this holy sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things, and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul, so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever. Amen.

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Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all his benefits. Let us pray. We have consumed, O Lord, this divine sacrament, the perpetual memorial of the passion of your Son. Grant that this gift which he himself gave us with love beyond all telling may profit us for our salvation through Christ our Lord. The Lord be with you. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Mass has been celebrated. Go in peace.

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Thanks be to God.

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Our thanks to our donors for the gift of this Mass.