25 September 2026
Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 9:18-22
Today, Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, the passage from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke continues to present to us the discussion concerning the identity of Jesus. Let us seek to understand it.
First, Saint Luke tells us: Once when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They replied, “John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” (cf. Luke 9:18–19)
We often interpret the words of Jesus according to the way the world understands the Word of God—that is, according to the mindset and methods of the world—and we imagine Jesus to be as we would wish him to be. When Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am? What do you think of me?” we, too, like those who do not know him, answer him carelessly. This is because we do not truly listen to the Word of God—that is, to the Word which God himself communicates to us through his Church and by means of his faithful servants. Instead, we listen to human words, not the words of God. To listen to human words leads us to perceive Jesus according to merely human categories. In this way, we come to think of God as one who rewards the good and punishes the wicked. Yet, if we look upon God according to the teaching handed down to us by the Church, then we come to know Jesus rightly: he is not a God who merely rewards and punishes, but a God who is Love.
Today, Peter, on behalf of all the disciples who follow Jesus, confesses that Jesus is the Christ (cf. Luke 9:20), giving us a noble example to follow. Peter’s confession arises from his lived experience and from his deepening understanding of Jesus and of the Kingdom which Jesus proclaims, an understanding born of his encounter with the Lord. When Peter perceived that the Kingdom preached by Jesus differed from that taught by the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, chief priests, and elders of the people—when he saw that Jesus not only taught but confirmed his words by his deeds, drawing ever greater multitudes to follow him—then Peter ceased to judge Jesus and his works by the standards of this passing world. Instead, guided by the Holy Spirit and enlightened by him, Peter looked upon Jesus with the eyes of faith. Thus, he confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God who was to come.
Today, let us imitate the Apostle Peter. Let us courageously confess that Jesus is the Messiah of God. Let us boldly renounce all that this passing world seeks to impose upon us and let us adopt a wholly transformed way of life, bearing witness to the Gospel.
O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law
upon love of you and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever
©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica
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