October 22, 2026
Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Or Optional Memorial of Pope Saint John Paul II
Gospel: Lk 12:49-53

Today is Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time. Today the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of Pope Saint John Paul II.

The Decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued on May 29, 2014, titled The Inclusion of Popes Saint John Paul II and John XXIII in the Roman Calendar, introduces this saint as follows: Karol Józef Wojtyła was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. After being ordained a priest in Rome and completing his theological studies, he returned to his homeland to undertake various pastoral and academic tasks. He first served as Auxiliary Bishop of Kraków; in 1964, he was appointed Archbishop of Kraków and participated in the Second Vatican Council. On October 16, 1978, he was elected Pope, taking the name John Paul II. His outstanding apostolic zeal, especially his care for families, young people, and the sick, prompted him to make numerous pastoral visits to all parts of the world. Among his many legacies to the Church, foremost is his rich teaching; he promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Codes of Canon Law for the Latin Church and the Eastern Churches. On April 2, 2005, on the eve of the Second Sunday of Easter (namely Divine Mercy Sunday), he peacefully fell asleep in the Lord in Rome. The official biography provided on the Holy See’s website tells us: Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his Beatification Mass on May 1, 2011, and Pope Francis celebrated his Canonization Mass on April 27, 2014.

Today, the passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke continues to present to us the new world revealed by Jesus. Let’s try to understand.

First, Saint Luke tells us: Jesus said to his disciples, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (cf. Lk 12:49)

The fire that Jesus speaks of is a fire of love. The reason the world needs His fire of love is that the logic followed by this world is a logic completely opposed to the logic proposed by Jesus. Those who live in this passing world only think of their own gains and losses, their own interests, with no regard for the interests of others. Gradually, this world becomes cold; even colleagues who got along very well in the workplace will choose to part ways due to unequal distribution of benefits. Therefore, this world urgently needs the fire of Jesus’ love, so that this cold world may become humane once again.

Next, Jesus says: “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” (cf. Lk 12:50)

What kind of baptism did Jesus receive? He was to cleanse the souls of the world through His own sufferings, and to make atonement for the world through His holy death on the Cross. When He received the baptism of John the Baptist in the Jordan River, He began His work of purifying the world. He blessed all the springs of water in the world with His sacred body, so that water might contain His divine life, enabling people to wash away the stain of original sin by receiving His baptism, and to be healed inwardly by frequently being washed with holy water.

In fact, we have all received the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We have all made resolutions to accept the world of God as spoken by Jesus and to become part of that world of God; we have all envisioned a harmonious world and a harmonious family. But Jesus tells us: “From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (cf. Lk 12:52-53) This means that the world of God we have accepted, the worldview, outlook on life, and values taught by Jesus that we follow, are destined to collide sharply with the worldview, outlook on life, and values followed by those who belong to this passing world. What will we do when we encounter such collisions? If we choose to resist, then we are not perfect Christians. If we imitate the good Jesus and peacefully accept such suffering, we truly enter the Kingdom of Heaven spoken of by Jesus. For Jesus said: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (cf. Mt 5:10) At that time, we will receive a rich reward. (cf. Mt 5:11-12)

Today is the Optional Memorial of Pope Saint John Paul II. Let us, together with the Universal Church and together with Pope Saint John Paul II, offer our prayer to God:

O God, who are rich in mercy
and who willed that the blessed John Paul the Second
should preside as Pope over your universal Church,
grant, we pray, that instructed by his teaching,
we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ,
the sole Redeemer of mankind.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica