October 16, 2026
Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
or Optional Memorial of Saint Hedwig, Virgin
or Optional Memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Gospel: Lk 12:1–7

Today is Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church today celebrates the Optional Memorial of two saints. Let us get to know these two saints:

St. Hedwig (c. 1174–1243) was born into a princely family at Andechs in Germany; indeed, her niece was St. Elizabeth of Hungary. At the age of twelve, she married Henry the Bearded, who later succeeded as Duke of Poland, and bore him seven children (including Henry the Pious and Conrad the Curly). She led a life of piety, caring for the poor and the sick, and after her widowhood, retired to the Cistercian monastery of Trebnitz, which she had founded.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690) was born at Verosvres in Burgundy, France, and joined the Order of the Visitation at Paray-le-Monial. She received mystical revelations concerning the Sacred Heart of Jesus and, with the help of her Jesuit confessor, St. Claude de la Colombière, spread this devotion throughout the world. She was canonized in 1920.

Today, the passage from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke continues to present Jesus’ teaching to His disciples on His final journey to Jerusalem. Let us understand.

First, Saint Luke tells us: At that time, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another. Jesus began to speak, first saying to His disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” (cf. Lk 12:1–3)

In daily life, we often see yeast. Yeast is a kind of leavening agent. It is usually used in producing wine, baking bread, and even as a cleaning agent. Therefore, it has a communicative and interactive quality, able to blend and multiply various cells effectively.

Today, Jesus asks us to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees because the Pharisees often used their bad example to influence the people of God at that time. Those with weak faith, under their influence, also became outwardly pious but inwardly full of deceit and hypocrisy. Today, among us, there are also many brothers and sisters in the Lord who resemble the Pharisees. On the surface, they appear very devout, spending much time in service to the Church. In the eyes of the parish priest, they are zealous faithful; no deceit is found in their speech, and their words and deeds fully conform to the teachings of Jesus. They even care more about parish affairs than the parish priest himself. Yet when the parish priest is not around, they whisper among themselves, even forming cliques and living within their own circles, so that they rarely go out to proclaim the Gospel. This is precisely what Saint John describes as those who love darkness. John says, “They loved darkness more than light, for their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (cf. Jn 3:19–20)

In this Gospel passage, Jesus also asks us to beware of the one who kills the body and has authority to cast a person into hell (cf. Lk 12:4–7). Clearly, this refers to the devil, who can destroy our bodies and cause us to fall into hell; it also refers to the worldly mindset of this passing age, which tempts us to turn away from the kingdom of God that Jesus spoke of, and to the body itself, which can blind the eyes of our faith. When faced with all this, at first we may be very afraid, even at a loss. But if we imitate St. Hedwig, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and the patron saints of each of us, relying on the Holy Spirit and obeying the Holy Spirit, we will find the way and means to overcome all this. For we know that wherever the Gospel of Jesus reaches, the devil and all forces opposed to Him cannot stand.

May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good work.
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