Reflections on the Gospel Reading for the Day

Seeking a sign? Seek the sign of Jonah, repentance, and the one who is greater, Jesus, our savior.

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah” (Lk 11:29).

To understand what Jesus means, we need to understand the sign of Jonah. Jonah was sent by God to go to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, to call them to repent from their wicked ways. The Jews not only considered Nineveh to be a place of decadence, wickedness, and godlessness, they also recognized it as the heart, the capital city of Assyria. Its military which had invaded Israel and conquered the northern kingdom around 721 BC.

We can understand Jonah’s initial refusal to follow God’s lead. Not only did he not want to go to Nineveh, but Jonah also did not want them to receive mercy. He wanted God to punish and destroy the nation who he considered an enemy. Those who have read the Book of Jonah, know that Jonah finally acquiesced, and within hours of his proclamation to the citizens, including the king, they repented and God showed them mercy.

Jesus draws a parallel between the people of Nineveh and his listeners. The people of Nineveh heard and repented to a reluctant messenger. The Ninevites, Gentiles, the sworn enemies of Israel, received God’s mercy when they repented. Now, in their midst was one greater than Jonah, the Son of God, and they were demanding of him a sign. The sign of Jonah was repentance. Jesus, from the beginning of his public ministry, preached the same: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15).

Many did not listen to Jesus. We would do well to listen to Jesus’ message. Repentance is a foundational spiritual discipline. We are called to consistently and daily examine our conscience and to come to accept that we live in a fallen world. This is not a pessimistic view. This is an awareness of the reality of our present condition.

By accepting that we live in a fallen world, that there is only so much that we can do by ourselves and on our own power alone, we will begin to recognize that we need a savior. The next step that we can make is to acknowledge that we need to repent, to identify and turn away from our sins, and turn back to him who can save us. For apart from him, we can do nothing, yet with God, all things are possible.

St Mother Teresa recognized the need for Jesus and stressed this when she taught her novices that she was not interested in numbers and she was not interested in having a branch of social workers. She and those who followed Jesus were to be missionaries of God’s charity. They were to serve Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor. To do so they participated in daily Mass for an hour so they could bring Jesus and see Jesus to those they encountered each day. After returning from their time of service they participated in adoring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament for an hour. Empowered and renewed by Jesus, blessed by his mercy and love, they could serve Jesus in those they met in the harshest of conditions.

Jesus calls us, as he did his listeners, to resist seeking signs as did the Jews and wisdom as did the Greeks, but repent and give our lives to him. By emptying ourselves of our preconceived notions and opening our hearts and minds to follow his lead and be conformed to his life, we can be about doing God’s work. As long as we stay connected to Jesus, he will guide and give us the means to accomplish that which he sends us to do.

We stay connected to Jesus by allowing his light to shine in our hearts and minds so that we can better identify our sins. Not to be condemned or shamed, but convicted of them so that we, like the Ninevites, will repent and turn our focus back to God. Our goal is to enter a daily rhythm of thanking God for our blessings, acknowledging where we have said yes to his will, while also resisting temptations and when we fall, repent and ask for forgiveness and help to do better.

With a daily examen, we will learn and grow with God’s grace, slowly our selfish and disordered pursuits will cease to be our priority, we will no longer put our own interests at the center. Instead, we will accept Jesus as the core of our lives, that he may be the guiding light of our thoughts, words, and actions. For we are “called for freedom,” to be freed from our sins so that we can “use this freedom” to “serve one another through love” (Galatians 5:13 ).

Photo: Jesus calls us to repent from anything that separates us from him and his Father so that we can experience the love of the Holy Spirit. Are we willing to repent?

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, October 12, 2026

We are all invited to the feast. How will we respond?

The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Mt 22:1-14) continues with a similar tone to The Parable of the Tenants presented last Sunday (Mt 21:33-43). An invitation is offered that is followed by rejection, death, and harsh judgment. We need to remember that these are parables, not specific historical accounts, in which Jesus is seeking to reveal something significant. Jesus would have also shaped this parable, as well as others, depending on the audience he was speaking to, a common practice in oral tradition. This can be a possible reason for the similarity and differences in the account of the same parable given in Luke (14:15-21).

Jesus often shared table fellowship with many, we see consistent evidence of this. Jesus also “used meal imagery to depict the eschatological banquet or final salvation” (Meier, 271). The imagery of the great wedding feast in this parable conveys to the listeners then and us reading today, that all are invited to participate in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus first sought to gather the scattered people, once united under King David as the twelve tribes Israel, yet there were those who ignored, were indifferent to, rejected, and even rebelled against his invitation.

They, as the chosen people of God, were to be a holy people, a faithful witness to the one God. Jesus sought to reignite their original purpose, yet there were those who refused and so he shared in this parable that others would be invited. Jesus’ invitation as a universal message echoes that of Isaiah: “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines” (Isaiah 25:6).

As with the Parable of the Tenants, Matthew emphasizes not only the rejection of the invitation, but includes the violent images of the abuse and death of the servants sent by the king, and the king’s punishment, by putting them to death and then the burning of their city. Some biblical scholars see this as a possible allusion to the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Luke does not include the abuse of the messengers or the king’s punitive justice. Matthew was emphasizing that there will be accountability to the way in which one responds to the invitation.

We do not know the time or the hour, so we must not delay in our decision. “In the concrete context of his ministry, at any given time Jesus would have spoken this parable to this or that group of his fellow Jews as a salutary warning not to ignore his urgent final message, lest they suffer the consequences on the last day… Decide now, or soon it will be too late and your place will be taken by another” (Meier, 272). This message was directed to all who heard it. Each person then and now needs to make a decision.

Jesus, the Son of God, in the humanity that he has assumed, in his willingness to give his life for us, opened up heaven for us. This act of love and grace is a free gift and we are invited to participate. We can choose to be indifferent, receive, or reject the invitation. Many of those who have said yes, have followed the same path to martyrdom by sharing the message they have received and lost their life and now wear the white robes at the great wedding feast in heaven.

The invitation has been given to us today. We may not all be asked to give our lives but we are called to give witness to our faith in the unique way God calls us. Will we ignore, make excuses, or say yes?

Paul’s letter to the Philippians gives us encouragement that what we can depend on. We are to remember that Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead assures us that, “God will fully supply whatever [we] need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.“ (Philippians 4:19).

Photo: Seminarians who have said yes and united for a day at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami! Please keep in prayer our seminarians from the Diocese of Palm Beach.

Meier, John P. A Marginal Jew, vol 5, Probing the Authenticity of the Parables. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday October 11, 2026

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Luke 11:27-28).

Jesus is not discounting his mother nor putting her down in any way by his response. Especially because Mary is the exemplar of not just someone who, but one who other than he, consistently heard the word of God and observed it. Probably even before but the earliest record of this we have is Mary saying, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your will” (cf. Luke 1:38). She was instrumental in collaborating with God’s will to bring about the salvation of the world in her willingness to bear his only Son.

The wonderful gift of what Jesus said is also an invitation to all of us. If we ever felt at some point that we never fit in somewhere, if we did not quite belong, or we didn’t measure up to someone’s or our own expectations, we need no longer feel that way. Jesus is inviting us to have a seat at the table. And the good news is that there is unlimited seating! If we feel anxious or out of sorts, are discerning a heavy decision and feel paralyzed, dealing with a relational conflict and not sure how to respond, the Holy Spirit provides a way.

All we have to do is go to our Bible. And if it has been awhile, pick it up, blow off the dust, and open up to the Gospel of Luke and read these lines for ourselves. In doing so, we hear the word of God and then begin to ponder what we have heard and then observe it, put what we have heard into practice. Simple as that.

And yet there is so much keeping us busy, distracted, and diverted from spending time reading, meditating, and praying with God’s word. We might look at the Bible as just another book because there is so much that appears to be more enticing, inviting, and engaging. God has made us not for merely finite but infinite pursuits, to seek the things of heaven. 

The Bible, initially in his youth, did not offer much to St. Augustine. He thought it for the simple minded. After many years though seeking and indulging in the things of the world, even the pursuit of truth, he was left feeling empty. He then found solace in reading the Bible which only increased when he “transcended the literal sense.” The literal sense being that which he read and understood with his mind and reason. In allowing himself time to ponder, the Holy Spirit touched him in the depth of his soul and “enabled him to find at last the answer to his deep inner restlessness and his thirst for truth” (Pope Benedict, General Audience, January 9, 2008).

We too are restless and tired existing in a world that entices us with so many other voices and attractions but in putting those enticements into practice, we are left wanting. Yet, the daily discipline of reading and praying with the Bible provides peace and rest for our souls like nothing else can. Slowly and gently our intimacy with God grows when open up our Bible each day, breathe, and slowly read and ponder. When we not only read the words, but also meditate and pray with them, we transcend the literal and experience God’s living stream flowing in our veins. We are refreshed, renewed, and transformed.

Photo: May we, like Mary, trust in and ponder the word of God and put what we have received into action.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, October 10, 2026

Jesus operates through the will of the Father and the love of the Holy Spirit to free us.

In today’s gospel account, Jesus is accused of collaborating with Satan because he has cast out a demon. Jesus quickly counters the absurdity of the claim by stating that, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house” (Luke 11:17).

If there is one thing that Satan, the one who accuses, the father of lies, and his demons are unified on, it is to promote disunity, isolation, chaos, and destruction. They will seek any way to break through our defenses, our weaknesses, tempt, and mislead, to get us to even doubt the truth. They also seek to isolate us from one another. Here Jesus is healing a person from being possessed and it is made to look like he is in league with the devil. This is also showing that the opposition to Jesus is growing.

Jesus reveals the error and builds on it with the truth, “But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). The kingdom of God reveals and casts out demons, uncovers lies, and reconciles division. Jesus in his perfection comes to purify, cleanse, and to restore the Father’s original purpose of harmony, oneness, and unity.

The closer that Jesus gets to Jerusalem, the opposition to him appears to be growing. Jesus offers those listening a choice: Recognize him as the Son of God who acts in the name of the Father and join with him, or reject him and side with the enemy. Jesus’ does not leave a middle ground. If one does not decide, “the last condition will be worst than the first” (Luke 11:26). Even those healed by Jesus, if  they do not commit their lives to him and fill themselves with the love of God, there will be room for evil to creep back in. Yet, if we spend time daily to breathe, receive, rest, and abide in God, when we are nourished by his word and regular confession, and at least weekly Mass, the Holy Spirit will dwell with us. There will be no room for evil to come in.

We are given the same choice. Do we take a moment before deciding to ask is this the will of God? Are our thoughts, words, and actions, divisive, hurtful, unkind, or are they unifying, empowering, and loving? If we can admit any ways in which we have turned away from God or have not trusted him, the good news is that we can repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It is important to recognize our need for healing, which helps us to be more prudent, and ask Jesus for forgiveness and help to begin again.

Where we have said yes to God’s will, let us thank Jesus for working through us and build on the better. In both ways, we recognize the truth, and we continue to build on the love that Jesus offers. When we trust him, we grow in relationship with him, and can better share the love he offers us with others.

Jesus has come to defeat the strong man and free us from our bondage. God has sent his Son to free us. We will choose to allow him to do so? Let us choose to turn away from anything not of God and follow Jesus today. Let us choose to be loved and to love in return.

Photo: Jesus mounted the wood of the Cross so that he could conquer death and return to bestow upon us his love and mercy.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, October 9, 2026

God loves us, hears our prayers, and guides us to healing and wholeness.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Lk 11:9).

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues to teach his disciples and us about prayer. The key point he is emphasizing is to be persistent in our prayer and to trust in God. He is our Father who cares for us more than any human can. He cares and will provide for us more than our own earthly parents or friends.

Yet, we can be frustrated in prayer because when we do make the time to pray, we may feel or think that nothing is happening or has happened. We may pray for a specific petition for our self, or for a particular intention for another and felt, or thought, that there was not an answer from God. One may pray a sincere, seemingly selfless prayer for a loved one, a child, a spouse, a friend, to be healed from a particular painful emotional situation, a conflict to be resolved, or someone ill and dying, and yet, the situation continues, the conflict may not get better but may worsen, and/or the person still dies.

The one petitioning may feel deeply hurt because they did what Jesus said; they asked, they pleaded and begged, but felt they did not receive the ending of pain, the resolution, or healing they sought for themselves or others; that which they pleaded, was not given and, instead what they found was nothing but pain and heartache; they knocked until their knuckles were raw and experienced no one on the other side.

Our attitude and orientation to prayer matters. When we sincerely turn our hearts and minds to God in prayer, something happens between us and God, though it may be beyond our cognitive grasp to understand or our sensory awareness to experience. There may indeed be emotional highs and consolations experienced in prayer, but if seeking those is the primary motivation for prayer we will find ourselves more frustrated than not. There may also be lows in prayer, dryness, even desolations, and even feeling God’s absence. Emotions are fleeting and not a good barometer when measuring the effectiveness of prayer.

Another big misconception is that we pray to God as if he were a gumball machine. It may seem a silly analogy but how many of us really do pray and worse, only pray that way, and when we do not receive the specific thing we asked for, at the time specified, when we wanted and as we wanted, we brood and think God doesn’t care or does not, in fact, even exist. We may even slip into the barter posture. God if you grant me this, I will do that. If we are only open to receive what we want on our terms, again we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.

The very desire to pray is the beginning of our awareness, for God is the one who reaches out and invites us to pray. The answer to what or who we ask, seek, and knock is found at the end of the Gospel reading for today: “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Lk 11:13)?

God knows what is best for us, he sees our potential, he wants us to experience joy and be fulfilled. How can we best live our lives in this world to attain that reality? We do so by asking for the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? The infinite, communal love expressed between God the Father and God the Son. Our goal in prayer is to enter into God’s reality, the infinite communion of Love.

We pray first and foremost to help us to grow in relationship with God. This happens through our participation and conformation to the life of Jesus. When we take time to learn, meditate, pray with, and put into practice Jesus’ teachings as his disciples did, we will start to see as he sees, we will come to see the truth of empty promises, apparent goods, substitutes to fill our emptiness and faulty defense and coping mechanisms that we have been utilizing as guideposts to merely survive and get through life.

When we stay consistent in an authentic life of prayer, God won’t bend to our will, but we will change. Instead of God becoming smaller to our demands, he expands our hearts and minds to be capable to receive his love. As we mature, we will begin to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control (cf. Galatians 5:22-23)?

Why may God not appear to answer prayers for healing of a relationships, resolutions to conflicts, physical healings for a loved one with a chronic condition or one who is dying? I do not know. God though does not wave a magic wand and poof all is wonderful. If we genuinely seek healing for ourselves and others, that will take time, for God seeks healing for the long term, and that means helping us to build firmer foundations through trusting him and receiving his love.

When we trust God there is less disappointment, because we can be more patient to receive God’s outcome, than grasp for our intended outcome. We trust that God knows better than us. Sometimes what we ask for we receive in the way we asked, and sometimes we receive what we asked for in a different way than we expected.

We need to resist running from the pain and be willing to trust that God has not abandoned us but is with us. The tears that arise from our suffering can then become a healing salve, a doorway into the open arms and embrace of Jesus who awaits us in the depths of our frustration, grief, and pain. Even our loved ones who have died have not come to an end but have experienced a new beginning. JoAnn often would say in her last few weeks that she was just changing her address. God answered our prayers for JoAnn’s healing, just not the way we had intended.

Ultimately, what we ask, what we seek, and what we knock for when we pray is to be loved, to belong, to be a part of someone and something greater than ourselves. We have been created as a living, craving hunger, and desire to be one with God and each other. This is true for the atheist and the mystic alike. We have been created to be loved and to love. God’s love is present to us no matter the internal or external turmoil within ourselves or those we love.

The Holy Spirit is the gift of prayer that is open to us all. He is the love shared between the Father and the Son, that we too can experience. This is why he is the answer to our prayer, though sometimes to be aware of his presence takes perseverance. It may not be that God is not answering, but that we are not patient enough to receive the answer. We need to be patient enough to be still and know God. Prayer is about building a relationship and like any other relationship, that takes consistent time and work.

To mature in our relationship with God not only takes perseverance, we also need to trust him. One of the enemy’s chief tactics is to sow the seeds of doubt and mistrust. Trust in God’s love for you. Trust that he hears every prayer. Continue to show up each day and pray. Even if you feel nothing is happening, God is working within you, fighting for you, helping you to feel safe, to heal and grow in trust. It is also important to spend regular time in quiet, for God’s primary language is silence.

God provides an answer to every prayer. May we be willing to seek his truth, trust in him that he knows best and will guide us well so that we may follow the path that he lights before us. “Leave it all to God and leave your interests in His hands. He knows what is fitting for us… No matter: tell Him honestly, candidly, and ask Him to help you trust Him.” – St. Teresa of Avila

Photo: No matter how dark, and even when there appears to be no way, trust in Jesus, he will hear our prayer and show us the way.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, October 8, 2026

“Father, Hallowed be your name.”

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and he shared with them the prayer we know as the “Our Father” or “The Lord’s Prayer”. This version from Luke is a bit different than the version from Matthew that we are used to. Praying with different words can help us to be more attentive and mindful. We also need to be careful when we pray to resist the temptation to only say words and forget that the words we are praying are directed to a Person, in this case, Our Father.

This very prayer was given to the Apostles, who passed it on, and it has continued to be prayed and passed on generation after generation such that we have received the “Our Father” again in this moment!

God’s word is alive. It touches our hearts and minds, and reaches each of us in our own unique moments of sorrow, challenges, and desolations, as well as our successes, joys, and consolations. Another good point to remember when approaching prayer is to resist the temptation to change God. Instead, let us allow him to transform us by his loving embrace.

The Lord’s Prayer is wonderful on its own when we meditate upon each of the words. While at the same time it is also a model of prayer. In the very opening line, Jesus invites us to begin each prayer in praise and thanksgiving. Beginning any prayer in gratitude leads us to experience joy and communion with our Father. When we are grateful, we are less apt to dwell on what we don’t have.

Each of the following lines are lines of petition and intercession. We are asking God for our needs, physical as well as spiritual. The daily bread points back to how our Father took care of the Hebrews in the desert with bread from heaven, the manna. And points forward to the institution of the Eucharist. The most powerful petition we can pray, and the most transformative and healing petition is to ask for and offer forgiveness.

Having been forgiven and making time to savor being forgiven, we will be hopefully, more apt to forgive others. Through the lens of forgiveness, we can then also see better what our lives look like with God and without him. We can then more clearly decide to give our lives to God more fully and resist temptations more consistently by asking for his help. Just as God protected Jesus in the desert from the temptation of Satan, so he will protect us when we to nourish ourselves daily by reading, studying, meditating and praying with his sacred word.

I invite you to give yourself some time now to slowly and prayerfully pray this prayer again. Pay attention to each word, meditate upon them, direct them to, and spend some quiet time with our Father.

“Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test” (Luke 11:2-4).

Photo: Let us resist the Kentucky Derby version of the recitation of the Rosary and instead, slowly recite and ponder upon the wonderful prayers and Mysteries on this feast day of our Lady of the Rosary. Painting by Charles B. Chambers.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, October 7, 2026

May we bring any anxiety to Jesus and receive his love and consolation in exchange.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Lk 10:41-42).

My wife, JoAnn, and I used to have more than a few spirited discussions on this Gospel passage each time that it arose because, at first reading, it appears that Jesus does not show any empathy or regard for Martha’s gift of hospitality nor for all the work that she is doing, she who was “burdened with much serving”. All the men are sitting around listening to Jesus, and Mary… she is doing the same, and who is left to do all the work? Martha.

Blessed to serve as a permanent deacon for ten years, I saw my own, as well as other deacon’s wives, carry extra weight and burdens in support on the home front to allow their husbands the time to serve. Many of us also still held full time jobs. Not only deacon’s wives, this reality is also true for many wives who are full-time homemakers, run in-home businesses, or carry a job outside the home, as well as care for the children, overseeing the bills, the day to day grind. They too may find themselves, feeling under-appreciated, undervalued, not respected for all they do, and “burdened with much serving”.

Husbands can do a better job of being present, more patient, respectful, and attentive to their wives and be more of an equal partner on the journey. There are challenges of being overwhelmed being single as well. Not having someone to help out to share the load, especially as we age. Our mortality, married or single, is a little closer on the horizon.

The point Jesus is making, that he makes throughout the Gospels, is to put God first, then family, work, and our unique vocation. The expression of that is going to be different for each station in life. There will be more time constraints for parents of infants. No matter how little time we may have, setting time aside to pray daily, to allow time to as Mary did, sit at the feet of Jesus and receive his nourishing word, rest and receive his love, and confer with him our challenges to receive his guidance is so important. Doing so, will then help us to properly order the chaos of our day as well as feel peace even in the mundane. The more we can “choose the better part”, we will find that time we did not think we had and Jesus will help our lives to be properly ordered.

This short account acknowledges the reality of how much we all juggle with in all ages. There is much to do and much to be done. Jesus was not disregarding Martha’s hospitality. Especially in the Gospel of Luke, there are many instances in which Jesus empowers women so far beyond the cultural reality of his time. We read this as we do any biblical account from our twenty-first-century mindset. Contextually, the men sitting at the teacher’s feet in a different room, the women cooking, and most times eating separately were commonplace for those in the ancient near east of the first century AD. Mary was the only person out of step with the times.

The interpretive key to understanding this account is what Jesus said. He pointed out that Martha was “anxious and worried about many things.” Mary could have been one of those worries, and not so much that Mary wasn’t helping in the kitchen, but because she was breaking the social norm of sitting with the men. When Martha calls Jesus to redirect Mary, she probably expects him to support her plea. Yet, Jesus acknowledges that: “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Luke 10:42).

Mary, sitting and having her primary focus on Jesus was the posture of a disciple. Jesus was not only allowing her to do so, he was commending her for doing so. I can visualize Martha being taken aback at first, but then slowly feeling the muscles in her face relax as the lightbulb went on. We don’t know. But could Martha in that moment have experienced peace, that peace that surpasses all understanding, such that the anxiety and worry left her? Feeling the peace instead of fear, she too like Mary approached Jesus as Mary had done. Did Martha then take her apron off, throw it to the side, and sit down next to her sister and also become his disciple?

There is biblical evidence that beyond the Twelve, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, were Jesus’ friends. When Jesus came four days after the death of Lazarus, as soon as Martha heard Jesus was outside, she, not Mary, came immediately out to Jesus, and in that exchange, it was Martha who made the claim that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God (cf Jn 11:27). Would she have had this insight, the same as Peter, if she was still holding a grudge from this encounter?

Our modern reaction and push back to this Martha and Mary account in Luke may not so much be a reflection on Jesus but how poorly men have treated women over the generations and how poorly women continue to be treated even today. No matter their ages, young, old, and everywhere in between, women are human beings created in the image of God. No one has the right to abuse, demean, disparage, devalue, or exploit any woman. Women are to be appreciated, heard, respected, cherished, and valued. Jesus showed that truth time and again, especially in the Gospel of Luke.

God has given each of us gifts to participate in his Father’s plan. May we resist the temptation to fear coming close to Jesus and taking time out to sit at his feet, to engage in mental maelstroms, to be “anxious and worried about many things.” Instead, when we experience the beginning tremors of any stress or strain, catch the effective movement, stop, breathe, be still and rest in Jesus’ presence as Mary, and hopefully Martha, did.

In Jesus’ presence, we will feel safe and can then share with him what is going on and hopefully be able to identify the source of the anxiety, share it with him and receive his love and consolation. Entering into this dance with Jesus of bringing him all that comes our way from within and without will help us to better know Jesus, his voice, and his teaching, know and follow his will, love others as he loves us, and live our lives respecting, encouraging, and supporting one another with the gifts and guidance that God has given us.

When we choose the better part of sitting at Jesus’ feet before making a decision, we can experience less chaos and more of his peace and guidance. Instead of living in a perpetual state of chronic stress and anxiety, being “worried and anxious about many things”,we can instead choose to breathe, rest, receive and abide in God’s love. Then from that place of stillness, like Mary, and I believe Martha, instead of reacting, we can make a choice based on God’s guidance.

Photo: Mary, Jesus’ mother, was the premier disciple for she “pondered” the mysteries she experienced with Jesus “in her heart” (Luke 2:19) and “heard the word of God and observed it” (Luke 11:28).

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, October 6, 2026

“Go and do likewise.”

It is interesting that the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and here in today’s Gospel account, a scholar of the law, instead of genuinely seeking to learn the truth from Jesus, they all “test” Jesus. They seek to prove him wrong, trip him up, or attempt to present him in a compromising light.

The scholar indeed knows the law well. He knows the foundation of the law which Jesus himself calls the greatest commandment in Mark and Matthew. In combining Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, the scholar answers his own question that one can “inherit eternal life” by loving “the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

Jesus commends his answer and acknowledges his understanding. Jesus then shares an important point to any law or teaching: “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28). It is not enough to know, we must put what we know into practice. Otherwise, there is no fruit. What we “know” will atrophy, it will whither away and die if we do nothing with what we have learned.

Not only does the scholar miss the point, he continues on his course to press Jesus further, seeking to “justify himself” by asking who is his neighbor. Jesus without missing a beat, sings the song of the Good Samaritan. Jesus presents who ought to be the heroes in his parable, the priest and the Levite, two law abiding Jews. Each know the law but each are unwilling to take the risk of breaking the law of ritual impurity by touching a dying man. Or they do not want to risk their own safety and refuse to fulfill the deepest root of the law, loving their neighbor as themselves. So they walk on and keep at a good distance. Jesus does not give the reason for their refusal to help.

The one who is willing to come close, the one who fulfills the letter of the law is not a scholar, a Pharisee, one of the high council, or even a common Jewish man or woman, but a Samaritan. Samaritans were considered enemies for different reasons. They were not pure-blood Judaeans. They were of the northern tribes of Israel and many of the Jews that survived the Assyrian occupation intermarried with the Gentiles. They also worshipped, not on Mount Zion, Jerusalem, but on Mount Gerizim. Sprinkling in some violent interactions and you have a recipe ripe for division and distrust.

Yet, it is this Samaritan who lives out the fullness of the law of God by loving his neighbor who is in need. He not only comes close to check on him, he provides aide, brings him to an inn where he can rest, heal, and all on his dime. Did the scholar go and do likewise? We do not know. Just as when the rich young man walked away sad after Jesus invited him to sell all he had and follow him, we don’t know if he ever came back. Are we willing to treat each other with mercy as did the Good Samaritan?

We can know the Catechism inside and out, know the Bible chapter and verse, we can attend daily Mass, but it does not mean that much if we do not allow what we have learned to shape and soften our hearts, transform our minds such that we come to put into practice the teachings of Jesus so that we may better know him and his Father and experience the love shared between them, the Holy Spirit. Our faith is about experiencing God’s love and loving one another as he loves us.

To grow in our relationship and experience of God’s presence we need to slow down, slip away from the fast pace and the instant gratification mill. That is the invitation of loving God with our whole being by embodying the first three laws of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments that have to do with loving God and then we can better follow the next seven, and love our neighbor as ourself. What we receive in our time of reading, studying, meditation, prayer, and worship, we need to ponder, put into practice, and share with one another as God leads. “God works in depth, in the slow time of trust” (Pope Leo XIV).

We are not perfect. We all fall short of the glory of God. The enemy seeks to distract, divert, trip, beat us down, and leave us for dead, just as we read about the man on the Jericho road. The good news is that in our times of desperation, when we find ourselves down and almost out, the Good Samaritan is Jesus. He is not only willing to come close, if we are willing to allow him, he will lift us up, restore us to health, save, redeem, and give us new life.

As Jesus does for us, let us go and do likewise for each other.

Painting: “The Good Samaritan” by Eugène Delacroix

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, October 5, 2026

We are tenants serving in the vineyard of our loving God and Father.

“Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit” (Mt 21:43).

With these words, Jesus is speaking to the leadership of Israel, those entrusted to shepherd God’s chosen. Jesus is not, as some have unfortunately suggested, advocating supersessionism: the claim that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. The Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate, Declaration on the Relation of the Church and Non-Christian Religions, states clearly: “It is true that the Church is the new people of God, yet the Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture” (741).

There is clear evidence that there have been anti-semitic movements and supersessionist views in the Church and it has created division instead of interfaith communion, and there are traces that still support a view contrary to Nostra Aetate. There is still much to do to heal and promote better mutual understanding. We must remember that Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Apostles were Jewish. Pope Paul VI stated that we are all spiritual Semites.

What we need to glean from Jesus’ words is that we who say we believe in God are given a sacred trust and duty to care for one another and all of creation. In the parable that Jesus shares, God is the owner of the vineyard, echoing a similar analogy from Isaiah 5:1-7 which is our first reading. The appeal of each telling is an appeal to the leaders and elders to repent.

Jesus is speaking to us as well. The Church is not our Church, just as in the parable the vineyard does not belong to the tenants. We are to serve God by following his will and bear good fruit by living our baptismal call to live holy lives dedicated to God. We cannot go through each day with blinders on to the needs of those around us. Though we cannot meet all the needs everywhere and for everyone, we can begin to approach each day with an intent of being good stewards to those we engage with.

We can begin by looking at our own home. First, on the material level, do we have more than we need? Are there material goods that could be used better elsewhere rather than just taking up space? Then, going forward, we can purchase what we need and resist what we think we need. I need to apply this to books!

“Wealth, explains Saint Basil, is like water that issues forth from the fountain: the greater the frequency with which it is drawn, the purer it is, while it becomes foul if the fountain remains unused” (Compendium, 329). We need to seek God’s discernment so to better manage the gifts and resources that God has entrusted us with. We are to free ourselves from the attachment to our material goods and seek God first. He gives us more in one loving glance than any possession we have or ever will have. We are to be people of generosity giving freely with joy, not choking on our own stagnation of excessive acquisitions.

Assessing daily how we treat one another is also important. A good practice here is to follow St. Mother Teresa’s five finger Gospel: “You did it to me.” This was an embodiment of Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus emphasized what you do to the least of my brothers, you did it to me. If we can approach each person we meet, in person as well as online, not as if they were like Jesus, but in fact Jesus, we might treat others with more dignity or respect.

The act of respecting the dignity of one person makes a big difference, certainly to that person. Respect ripples out to counter the negativity that permeates growing cynicism, distrust, division, and polarization. A waterfall begins with one drop. Helping people to feel they matter, that they have worth and dignity begins with one smile or a listening ear is just such a drop. Kindness and caring begins by listening to God tell us how much he loves us, be still long enough to rest in his healing embrace, and allow him to love us where we may not want to be loved or feel unlovable.

We can often get stressed, strained, frustrated, and angry when we consume too much of the news and allow ourselves to be saturated with the negativity of the world. Very little is within the realm of what we can have an impact on. Might be a good practice to consume less of the negativity, pray for the needs of the world, and allow the light and love of Jesus to reveal to us where we need to repent. repentance, forgiveness, healing, help us to receive more of God’s love. We are better able to resist serving ourselves but instead serve God in his vineyard in the unique way he calls us to serve.

We are called to work toward the common good of all, within our country and throughout the world. Doing so not in some abstract or utopian way, but in specific ways where we are invested in the lives of others. “Collaboration in development of the whole person and of every human being is in fact a duty of all towards all, and must be shared by the four parts of the world, East and West, North and South” (Compendium, John Paul II, 446).

We are not the owners of the vineyard, we are the tenants placed in charge by God. How we use our time, talent, and treasure matter. This is a good point of daily meditation and focus when examining our conscience each evening before we retire to the land of dreams. How have we done in the matter of being grateful to God, caring for one another, ourselves, and our environment? For those places we have fallen short, may we seek God’s forgiveness, and commit with God’s help to begin anew. Where we have done well, may we thank God for his guidance and continue to receive his love and follow his will, such that the water of generosity we draw continues to be pure so we may bear good fruit that will last.

Photo: When we remain connected to the vine of God’s love, we will bear good fruit.

Link for the readings for Sunday, October 4, 2026

Flannery, Austin. Vatican Council II. Fifth ed. Vol. 1. 2 vols. New York: Costello, 1998.

Compendium of the social doctrine of the church. Cittá del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005.

God cares and invites us to receive, rest, and abide in his love.

In the Gospel, Jesus receives the seventy-two he had commissioned to heal and exorcize demons in his name. They returned rejoicing at the wonders that they experienced in their service and Jesus shared with them that what was more amazing was not so much that “the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

What is amazing about what Jesus is sharing is that much more than what we do, even in doing God’s will, is who we are in relationship with God. That our names are written in heaven means, we know God. God cares about us personally and intimately. God knows each of us by name and knows us better than we know ourselves. Even though God does not need us, God yearns for relationship with us and has planted that very desire to be in relationship with him in the very depths of our minds, hearts, and souls. God also wants us to participate in his plan of salvation history and has a particular part for us to play.

When we give ourselves some time to take this in, to rest and stop, to breathe, really take some deep and slow breaths, and ponder not only how much God loves us, but actually give ourselves time to rest in and receive his love. Wow! You’ll never breathe or see the world in the same way again. When we receive something negative or harmful we are able to process and receive that in three seconds. To receive something good or to hear someone say we are loved, can take from 30 – 90 seconds to process.

We might hesitate or question whether God cares because we might believe that he allowed something to happen or not to happen, or because we have unwittingly welcomed the negative influence and lies of the enemy, such as: we may not care about having our name written in heaven, for what’s the point of having an eternal relationship with someone who doesn’t care enough to listen. Lies such as these keep God at a distance. God hears all our prayers even while they are still thoughts in our mind.

He knows our deepest needs, hurts, and desires more than we do. To experience God’s love though, to know that he hears our prayers, we will need to slow down and be still for more than a moment. God speaks in the silence of our hearts and we will hear his voice and experience his love when we remain still long enough to hear, receive, and rest in his word.

Just taking a moment to be still, and to bring our questions to God is a good first step. For God is the best one to answer them. We just need to be prepared that he may answer our question with more questions. He may also say yes, no, not yet, or yes in a different way that we think. As long as we enter into the conversation, God is present. It is not so much that we need to get up and do something, as much as… we need to sit and allow God to do something in and through us, and to remain still long enough to hear, receive, and rest in the gift of God’s love. Having received and rested in God’s love, we will better discern each thought to entertain, word to speak, and action to take.

Photo: “Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10

Link for the Mass for Saturday, October 3, 2026