Gospel for Wednesday June 24, 2026

Gospel

Luke 1:57-66, 80

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?”
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.

The Gospel of the Lord,

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Reflection

In today's Gospel, the birth of John the Baptist reminds us that every life has a purpose in God's plan. Even before he could speak for himself, God had already prepared a mission for him. The people around him had their own expectations, but God had something greater in mind.

This Gospel feels especially personal for our family. Our son Carl was supposed to be entering his third year of Chemical Engineering in the University of San Carlos. Then one day, on my birthday of all days, he opened up about his desire to enter the seminary. We were surprised. We had plans, expectations, and dreams for him. But sometimes God gently reminds parents of a difficult truth: our children are not ours to keep.

They are gifts entrusted to us for a time. A shepherd's charge from the Lord. We guide them, support them, pray for them, and love them, but ultimately, they belong to God. He alone knows the real purpose of their lives and the path that will lead them closest to Him.

Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, there comes a moment when we must trust God's plan more than our own understanding. It is not always easy, especially when the road ahead is uncertain. But faith means believing that the God who calls is also the God who guides. And wherever that call may lead, His plans are always greater than anything we could have imagined for ourselves.

- Tito Boyet

My Gospel Word Today

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Share a word or short phrase that expresses what you feel about today's Gospel, what you reflect on about the message. Example: trust, listen more, choose what matters...

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References for June 24, 2026

Other readings

First Reading Isaiah 49:1-6

Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Thanks be to God

Psalm Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15

I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.

O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.

Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.

My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.

Second Reading Acts 13:22-26

In those days, Paul said:
“God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’

“My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.”