Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Tuesday of the fifteenth week in ordinary time, July 14, 2026

Delivered by Amelia from the Parish of Saint Francis Xavier in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Isaiah 7: 1-9; Rs psalm 48: 2-3a.3b-4.5-6.7-8; Matthew 11: 20-24.OVERCOMING DISAPPOINTMENT The theme forour meditation today is: Overcoming Disappointment. There was a teenager namedAnto, who wanted to use his time outside of school with soccer training. Heenrolled in one of the football schools near where he lived. But after twoweeks of training, he quit and moved to another football school. The reason wasthat he was very disappointed because there was no atmosphere of mutualappreciation and support for creativity. Anto had a good playing talent but hedid not have the support of the coach and friends.  There are manyfactors that cause a person to be disappointed and in this reflection wehighlight the factor of lack of appreciation and happy for the goodness andquality we have. Appreciation is the same as acceptance, listening, respect,support and paying attention. Another expression for all this is gratitude. Agrateful person is the one who appreciates goodness and truth and lives in it. Today's readingsgive us examples of disappointments. God expressed disappointment overJerusalem and its rulers and inhabitants, who did not rely on the power of theAlmighty God to guard and defend them from the interference of the othernations. They lack faith in God, and were overcome by fear and want to escapefrom the threat of the enemy. Jesus Christ was disappointed in the cities thathad received His teaching and power but had no intention of repentance. Alongwith that disappointment, Jesus affirmed that the punishment was already instore for them at the time of the final judgment. We always showdisappointment because there is no appreciation and no gratitude in variousforms such as anger, reprimands, warnings and even strong resistance. There'snothing wrong with this. The important thing is that this is an act to makepeople aware, remind and bring people back to have gratitude and appreciation.We always have ways such as fraternal correction or protest in a way like Antomade earlier, so that the bad atmosphere of living together again gives a senseof home and acceptance of each other.    So, what needsto be avoided from this disappointed attitude? What we need to avoid isdisappointment that drives someone to revenge, to have evil plans, or createconflict and war. There is constructive disappointment that is useful forfixing a disorder and chaos, and there is also disappointment that leads todestruction, that is, to bring about worse problems. If we always use ourdisappointments constructively, we are contributing to improving and renewingour lives.Let us pray. In thename of the Father... O Almighty Father, we are grateful for Your wisdom toilluminate the path of our lives, especially when we are disappointed, hurt anddespaired. Hail Mary, full of grace... In the name of the Father ...