August 2, 2026 – 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ From the Gospel according to Matthew (14:13-21)

When Jesus heard [of the death of John the Baptist], he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
But when the crowds heard of it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he disembarked, he saw a large crowd; and he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick.
As evening drew near, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the day is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.”
And when he had ordered the crowd to sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowd.

They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve baskets full of the fragments that were left over. Those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

The Word of the Lord