We Walk to God in Our Human Acts - July 17, 2025

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071825.cfm

The path to God is not etched in grand miracles alone—it is traced in the small, intentional acts of everyday life. Scripture reveals again and again that our human acts, when joined to divine grace, become sacred steps toward communion.

In Exodus, the Israelites prepare a lamb, roast it whole, and mark their doorways with its blood. These earthy acts—done in obedience and hope—invite God’s protection and initiate their journey to freedom. The lamb, “without blemish,” prefigures Christ, whose own flesh and blood become the means by which we pass from death to life. Here, salvation wears skin: tangible, communal, remembered. And the call is clear—salvation is not passive. It requires movement. “Eat like those who are in flight,” God says. We are invited to act, to move, to trust.

Psalm 116 continues this theme: “To you I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving.” Gratitude itself becomes a path—a choice made amid suffering, a vow fulfilled in public. The psalmist walks toward God not through abstraction, but through offering. Through voice. Through praise.

Jesus, too, redefines the road to God. In Matthew’s gospel, his hungry disciples pick grain on the sabbath, and are criticized for doing what is “unlawful.” But Jesus responds with stunning clarity: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” The human act of feeding the hungry takes precedence over rigid law. Divine love breaks through religious confinement and redirects us toward compassion.

And in John 10, the journey continues through listening. “My sheep hear my voice,” Jesus says. Discipleship begins with human attentiveness—hearing, discerning, responding. In Ignatian spirituality, this becomes the heartbeat of faith: to seek God in all things, to act from deep listening, and to move where love leads.

Each passage affirms a profound truth: that our human acts—ritual, gratitude, mercy, attentiveness—are not distractions from the divine. They are the very means by which we walk toward Him.

In daily life, this truth takes root. The mother preparing a meal, the student offering a prayer, the minister preaching with love—all are walking toward God. And He meets them there.

“Love is shown more in deeds than in words.” —St. Ignatius of Loyola