Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time — August 2, 2026

Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook and Instagram.

Click here for the readings.

In today's Letter to the Romans, St. Paul asks a question that every Christian has faced at one time or another: "What will separate us from the love of Christ?"

If anyone had reason to question God's love, it was Paul. He endured beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, hunger, sleepless nights, and constant anxiety for the churches he served. Yet after all of that, he did not conclude that God had abandoned him. Instead, he proclaimed one of the most hope-filled passages in all of Scripture:

"I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I also think of St. Teresa of Ávila. According to a well-loved story, she was traveling by carriage during a rainstorm when it overturned, throwing her into the mud. Looking up to heaven she said, "Lord, if this is how you treat your friends, it is no wonder you have so few!"

We smile at her wit because we recognize ourselves in it. We all carry burdens. We all face disappointments, losses, illnesses, and unanswered questions.

Yet the witness of Paul and Teresa reminds us that God's love is stronger than every trial. His love is not measured by how easy life is, but by how faithfully He remains with us through it all.

The only way to separate ourselves from God's love is to refuse it. Even then, He never stops loving us.

In today's Gospel, Jesus sees the hungry crowd and is moved with compassion. He feeds them with the miraculous multiplication of the loaves, and there is more than enough—twelve baskets left over. It is a sign of the abundance of God's love, a love that reaches its fullness in the Eucharist, where Christ gives us not simply bread, but Himself.

When we come to Jesus, He satisfies the deepest hunger of our hearts. And His love is never exhausted. It fills us so completely that there is always enough left over to share with others.

How much does God love us? Just look at the Cross. There we see the fullest measure of His love — a love that not only suffers with us but suffered for us.

Let us find strength in the cross of Christ, an offering of God’s sacrificial love that is re-presented to us at every Mass. 

Have a blessed week, everyone.

In today's Letter to the Romans, St. Paul asks a question that every Christian has faced at one time or another: "What will separate us from the love of Christ?"

If anyone had reason to question God's love, it was Paul. He endured beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, hunger, sleepless nights, and constant anxiety for the churches he served. Yet after all of that, he did not conclude that God had abandoned him. Instead, he proclaimed one of the most hope-filled passages in all of Scripture:

"I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I also think of St. Teresa of Ávila. According to a well-loved story, she was traveling by carriage during a rainstorm when it overturned, throwing her into the mud. Looking up to heaven she said, "Lord, if this is how you treat your friends, it is no wonder you have so few!"

We smile at her wit because we recognize ourselves in it. We all carry burdens. We all face disappointments, losses, illnesses, and unanswered questions.

Yet the witness of Paul and Teresa reminds us that God's love is stronger than every trial. His love is not measured by how easy life is, but by how faithfully He remains with us through it all.

The only way to separate ourselves from God's love is to refuse it. Even then, He never stops loving us.

In today's Gospel, Jesus sees the hungry crowd and is moved with compassion. He feeds them with the miraculous multiplication of the loaves, and there is more than enough—twelve baskets left over. It is a sign of the abundance of God's love, a love that reaches its fullness in the Eucharist, where Christ gives us not simply bread, but Himself.

When we come to Jesus, He satisfies the deepest hunger of our hearts. And His love is never exhausted. It fills us so completely that there is always enough left over to share with others.

How much does God love us? Just look at the Cross. There we see the fullest measure of His love — a love that not only suffers with us but suffered for us.

Let us find strength in the cross of Christ, an offering of God’s sacrificial love that is re-presented to us at every Mass. 

Have a blessed week, everyone.