October 29, 2026 Thursday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Lk 13:31–35
Today is Thursday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke presents to us a dialogue between certain Pharisees and Jesus during His final journey to Jerusalem. Let us continue to reflect.
We often see in various films and television works those who, in order to realize their ideals, do not hesitate to give their lives. When they are pursuing dreams in their hearts, there are often people who kindly warn them of the threats they are about to face. Those who warn them kindly are like the Pharisees in today’s Gospel Mass who, as Jesus was entering the city of Jerusalem, advised Him according to their own wishes not to enter the city (cf. Lk 13:31–33). For in their hearts, Jesus seemed to be the Messiah they expected—the One who would save them from the hands of the Roman rulers and restore all Israel. Thus, out of frail human nature, they advised Jesus not to enter the city of Jerusalem.
In fact, when we act according to God’s holy will and, receiving His teaching, proclaim the Gospel to all creatures, we too will face threats just as Jesus was about to, and we will suffer the same pains as those brothers and sisters who, through receiving the one Baptism of Christ, receiving the one Holy Spirit, sharing the one cup of blessing, the one bread that is broken, are united in the Body and Blood of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 10:16–17) (cf. 1 Pt 5:9). Whenever we endure the slight sufferings brought upon us by the ruler of this world and his agents, our weak human nature often hinders us from, through faith and with the help of the Holy Spirit, overcoming all rash impulses of the flesh, so that we dare not bear witness to the Lord Christ before all. Perhaps we may feel isolated and helpless, but Christ our Lord, rich in mercy, will not abandon us. For He Himself said: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom” (cf. Lk 12:32). In another place He taught: “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. For what you are to say will be given to you at that moment; for it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (cf. Mt 10:19–20). From this we can see that we have no reason to shrink back. What reason is there then to stop us from proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world?
Today, let us together, with hearts that trust in God and full of confidence, offer our prayer to Him:
Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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
October 28, 2026 Saints Simon and Jude Gospel: Lk 6:12–16
Today is Wednesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the martyrdom of Saints Simon and Jude. The recently published Missal tells us: St. Simon (1st century) is usually called “the Canaanite” and “the Zealot,” suggesting he belonged to the Jewish party of the “Zealous of the Law.” St. Jude, also called Thaddeus (1st century), has a short epistle in the New Testament ascribed to him, and is popularly invoked as the patron of hopeless causes. Tradition records that after Pentecost they went out to evangelize: Simon in Egypt, Jude in Mesopotamia, and then together in Persia, where they were martyred. Their names appear in the Roman Canon. The passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke presents to us the narrative of how, after praying all night, Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles from among His disciples who had followed Him since Galilee. Let us try to understand.
First, Saint Luke tells us: Jesus went up the mountain to pray; He prayed to God all night. (cf. Lk 6:12) This shows that Jesus is always with the Heavenly Father. We know that Jesus is the Second Person of God, the Incarnate Word of God, who was with the Father in the beginning; all things were made through Him, created by Him, and completed in Him. Then why did He pray to God all night? What does Luke want to tell us? Luke wants to tell us: Jesus is always with God; He maintains His bond with the Father through all-night prayer.
Next, Saint Luke tells us: After daybreak, Jesus called His disciples and chose twelve from among them, and gives us their names. (cf. Lk 6:13–16) We can see a common characteristic in those Apostles who were first called by the Lord: they were not men of superior common sense, nor were they social celebrities of that time. They supported themselves with their own hands. Each of them had different life backgrounds, levels of education, and temperaments. The Lord Jesus did not change them, but invited them in their daily lives to proclaim the Gospel to all creatures, so that through their preaching, many might be set free from sin and death.
Today, like Saints Simon and Jude, we are chosen by God, rich in mercy, from this passing world to be His disciples. He invites us, through receiving His Baptism and the anointing of the Holy Spirit who proceeds from Him and the Father, to be set free from sin and death. He further invites us, through receiving His Body and Blood, to be united with Him and thus receive full nourishment, so that, like Saints Simon and Jude, we may with concrete actions and holy lives courageously bear witness to the truth.
O God, who by the blessed Apostles have brought us to acknowledge your name, graciously grant, through the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude, that the Church may constantly grow by increase of the peoples who believe in you. 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.
October 27, 2026 Tuesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Luke 13:18–21
Today is Tuesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke presents to us Jesus’ parables concerning the Kingdom of God. Let us continue to reflect upon them.
We often witness scenes of sowing in our daily lives, especially during the spring season, when farmers cast the seeds of the new year’s crops into their fields and continually tend them, so that the sown seeds may bear abundant fruit. Similarly, in northern China, many people love wheat-based food. When preparing such food, they often add an appropriate amount of yeast to the dough, so that its texture may be more palatable. All of this is what we frequently see and experience in our daily lives.
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord! Christ our Lord, rich in mercy, desires that we continually contemplate all that we see in our lives amid this passing earthly existence. He wishes us to understand our relationship with the Kingdom of God through contemplating the farmer’s labor in the fields and through the dough that is so commonplace in daily life. For the Kingdom of God is like a seed that a farmer sows in his field, or like a mustard seed that someone takes and plants in his own garden (cf. Lk 13:18–19), something that can very easily be overlooked. If in our lives we constantly focus on the tasks we are currently engaged in and live within our own little worlds, we will be unable to perceive all the graces that God, according to His abundant kindness, bestows upon us—so that we remain living in sin, refusing to be reconciled with God and with this world that He has created.
In fact, the Kingdom of God is like a great tree where the birds of the air can build their nests (cf. Lk 13:19); it embraces all things and accepts all things. Just as our Lord Jesus, out of love for us, when He was nailed to the Cross, stretched out His arms and embraced all things on the holy wood of the Cross, praying to the Father for all: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (cf. Lk 23:34). The Kingdom of God is also like yeast in the dough (cf. Lk 13:21); it coexists with this world and continues to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to all creatures, constantly winning more holy children for the Kingdom of God.
Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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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