Gospel Reflection for The 9th day of July in the year of Our Lord, 2025
Matthew 10:1-7
1 And having called his twelve disciples together, he gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of diseases, and all manner of infirmities. 2 And the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, 3 James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, 4 Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent: commanding them, saying: Go ye not into the way of the Gentiles, and into the city of the Samaritans enter ye not.
6 But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And going, preach, saying: The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Today's Mass Readings begin with the story of how Joseph's brothers, who had sold him into slavery, came to him for grain. The Pharaoh had appointed Joseph to manage the grain distribution in Egypt during a great famine. Joseph shows mercy on his brothers and saved his family from starvation. Through this, the entire Hebrew people were saved.
The Psalm for today includes the following verse:
The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
he foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
I believe that the Church, in its wisdom, includes such seemingly unrelated passages with today's Gospel for the reason that one of the hand-picked twelve Apostles of Jesus was Judas. Jesus chose Judas knowing beforehand that he would betray Him. Why would He invest such trust and authority in a traitor? As hard as it is for us to understand, the betrayal of Judas was necessary to the Triumph of our Lord over sin and death. It was also necessary to make clear the office of the Apostles, so that after Judas committed suicide, the faithful Apostles would recognize that the office must be filled. Just as Joseph was an officer in the Kingdom of Egypt, the Holy Apostles are officers in the Kingdom of God.
It is natural for us to wonder why God allows evil. Why does the omnipotent God of the universe allow men such as Hitler and Stalin, etc., to slaughter millions of people? The most simple answer is that God does not interfere with our free will. A man may be as evil as he chooses – God will not stop him. But, why must the innocent suffer?
This is harder to answer. But, we must remember that God's Divine Providence is beyond our understanding. The Bible tells us that He works all things together for good. As the Psalm says, “He foils the designs of the peoples, but the plan of the Lord stands forever.” God uses even the most evil people to accomplish the ultimate good, which is His will. I do not know how the monsters of modern history factor into God's plan, but I trust God's Word, because God cannot lie. Just as the evil committed against Joseph was used to save the Hebrew people, eventually resulting in the rise of Moses, the establishment of the Jewish Law and the Kingdom of Israel, we do not know how it will all play out. But, we know that God is good and true. We must trust in God Divine Providence, especially in the darkest of times.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July-December, 2025 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5BHFZ7X
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic