November 5, 2026
Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Lk 15:1-10

Today is Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time. The Scripture passage from the Gospel of Luke continues to present to us the dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees on His journey to Jerusalem. Let’s try to understand.

We often act like the Pharisees, attempting to guess God’s will according to our own intellect, and even wanting to predict what is about to happen in the future. For example: we often predict tomorrow’s weather, adopting every means and method to improve the accuracy of our predictions; or we often predict the arrival time of the next subway, so that our lives and routines may become more regular. What is more, some even boldly predict the end of the world, yet the moments predicted by these people have not come.

The Kingdom of God repeatedly mentioned by Jesus in the Gospel is the Messianic Kingdom. Christ the Lord, rich in mercy, according to His infinite compassion, has saved us from sin through healing (cf. Lk 17:11-19), driving out demons (cf. Mt 17:14-21), and through His death on the cross—which is what He said in today’s Gospel: “At the beginning, He must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation” (cf. Lk 17:25). Whenever we receive the Baptism of Christ, we nail our perishable bodies, bearing the likeness of death, to the cross with Christ, so that the sinful self may perish, and we may no longer be slaves to sin (cf. Rom 6:6). Instead, by accepting the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we become children of God (cf. Rom 8:12-14). Thus, we live in the abundant grace of God, no longer subject to the birth pangs brought by sin.

Today, let us, filled with longing for the heavenly homeland spoken of by Jesus, and relying on the light and help of the Holy Spirit, bravely resist the challenges and assaults brought by the devil and his agents, overcome our disordered desires and passions, and closely follow Christ towards holiness.

Almighty and merciful God,
by whose gift your faithful offer you
right and praiseworthy service,
grant, we pray,
that we may hasten without stumbling
to receive the things you have promised.
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