October 23, 2026 Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time or Optional Memorial of Saint John of Capistrano Gospel: Lk 12:54-59
Today is Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates today the Optional Memorial of Saint John of Capistrano, Priest.
The recently published Roman Missal tells us: Saint John of Capistrano (1386-1456) was married in his youth, but his marriage was later annulled. He gave up a promising career to become a Franciscan, and became known for his preaching in Italy and neighboring regions, often being entrusted with papal missions. After the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, he recruited soldiers for the crusade through his preaching; in the 1456 Battle of Belgrade, he went to the front lines to encourage the victorious Catholic troops. Shortly afterwards, he died of the plague in Ilok, Croatia.
Today, the passage taken from the Holy Gospel of Luke presents to us the Lord Jesus teaching us to understand the Kingdom of God He proclaimed to us through the changes of the present world. Let’s try to understand.
We often obtain todays and future weather forecasts through traditional media (such as radio, television, newspapers) or new media (such as Weibo, WeChat, weather-related mobile apps, etc.), so as to prepare early for work to be done. Sometimes, as Jesus said (cf. Lk 12:54-55), we predict weather on earth and in the sky based on the scenes of all things we see with our naked eyes and thereby think that we fully understand the laws governing this world, and believe that with our own reason, we seem able to comprehend the wondrous dispensation of God, His work of redemption continuing in us.
In fact, as Jesus said to the crowds (cf. Lk 12:56-58), we often center on ourselves. When we proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to those who, like us, are created in the image of God (cf. Gn 1:27), we often speak of the Word as we understand it according to our own interpretation of God’s will. As a result, those who listen to our self-based preaching and live according to what we preach may become our accusers on that unexpected day, denouncing our sins before God, so that we, because of our erroneous preaching, are cast into prison and must pay our debt to God and to our accusers until we have repaid the last penny.
Therefore, our conduct must be in accord with all that we have received. We should follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God, and by the aid of God’s Holy Spirit, put to death the rash impulses of the flesh that make us enemies of God, so that we may truly become children of God, completely freed from the death caused by sin. Furthermore, through our lives well-lived according to the teachings of God’s Word, the world may, like us, by receiving the same Baptism, belong to Christ, and by following the guidance of the same Holy Spirit, become children of God, and by sharing in the same Body and Blood of Christ, be united together in Christ, and be one in Christ.
Today is the Optional Memorial of Saint John of Capistrano, Priest. Let us imitate his virtuous example, discern God’s will from secular life, and readily accomplish the mission God has entrusted to us. Now, let us offer our prayer to God together:
O God, who raised up Saint John of Capistrano to comfort your faithful people in tribulation, place us, we pray, under your safe protection and keep your Church in everlasting peace. 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.
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