August 31, 2026 Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Lk 4:16-30
Today is Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time. The reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke presents to us Jesus’ return to Nazareth and His actions in the synagogue of His hometown. Let us reflect on this.
Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. According to His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to release the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (cf. Lk 4:16-20). After reading, He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
In the time of Jesus, every Sabbath, the Jews would come to the synagogue to listen to the Word of God and to hear the Rabbi’s interpretation of the sacred readings. Usually, a grown man would read from the Torah and the Prophets of the Old Testament, followed by a homily given by a priest.
From the passage of the Prophet Isaiah that Jesus chose to read, we see that the Messiah would proclaim the Word of God to four categories of people: the lowly, the brokenhearted, the captives, and the prisoners. Those who are lowly are not merely those of humble status, but also those who are excluded and marginalized for various reasons. Those who are brokenhearted are not merely those who feel distressed or pained by the trivial matters of secular life, but rather those whose sins cause grief to the Holy Spirit dwelling within their hearts. Those who are captives are not merely those captured by enemy forces on the battlefield, but more importantly, those whose souls have been captured by the devil due to human weakness. Those who are prisoners are not merely those who have lost their freedom by violating human laws, but more importantly, those who, because of sin, have lost the freedom of their souls and can no longer draw near to God.
Today, by receiving the Baptism of Christ and the Anointing of the Holy Spirit, we have become children of God. We are likewise called to proclaim the Word of God to those who are marginalized and to the vulnerable. We are also called to admonish those brothers and sisters whose hearts are hardened, so that they may no longer live in what they perceive as God’s world, but rather live in the world of God as Jesus proclaimed it.
God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. 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
August 30, 2026 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mt 16:21-27
Today is the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Beginning this week, the Gospel readings at daily Mass will be taken from the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke, which means that the theme of the Gospel will revolve around Jesus’ teachings concerning the end times. Today’s Gospel, taken from the holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew, presents to us a dialogue between Jesus and Peter after Jesus’ first prediction of His Passion and Resurrection. Let us reflect on this.
In our lives, we often choose, according to our own preferences, to live in a world built up by material things, so much so that our understanding of God is based on those who, like us, are created by God in His own image. When those whom we regard as a safe harbor are about to leave us, we, based on our weak flesh, are tempted to act as Peter did (cf. Mt 16:22-23). For what we think about belongs to this world; that is to say, we wish to share in the glory obtained in this world by those we consider our safe harbor, so that, because of all they have done for us, we may enjoy all the worldly splendor. I believe this was the mindset Peter had when he rebuked Jesus, because, like the Jews of his time, he hoped that Jesus would lead them to defeat the Roman Empire and restore Israel.
In fact, the world we now live in is passing away. As the Ecclesiastes says: “Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity.” (cf. Eccl 1:2). Even we ourselves, on account of original sin, after living in this valley of tears for a while, will return to dust. We often exhaust all the wisdom we possess, wanting to live a few more days in this world; in doing so, we regard ourselves according to human ways of thinking. Today, Jesus invites us no longer to view ourselves according to the worldly view of life, but rather according to the view of life in God’s world, as He has proclaimed it. The view of life He speaks of is this: to nail the life that brings about the death of sin to the Cross with Him, and through receiving His Baptism, to begin living as true children of God, and to bring this way of life, through concrete living and action, to this world which is destined to pass away.
God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. 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
August 29, 2026 The Passion of Saint John the Baptist Gospel: Mark 6:17–29
Today is Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist. The recently published Missal tells us: The Gospels relate how Saint John fearlessly condemned the unlawful marriage of Herod Antipas to Herodias—she had previously been married to his half-brother. The enraged Herodias had imprisoned him. In a moment of weakness, Herod promised to grant the heart’s desire of Salome, the daughter of Herodias. She asked for the head of Saint John, which was promptly fetched for her. Thus the Precursor of the Lord preceded his Savior through his passion.
Today’s Gospel passage from Saint Mark presents us with the narrative of the martyrdom of John the Baptist. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
In the beginning, before we had come to know Christ, the merciful God, just as He continually sent the Prophet Jeremiah (cf. Jer 26:1–9), never ceased to send to us our brothers and sisters who have received Baptism in Christ, been born anew in Christ, and, through receiving the Holy Spirit, share in Christ’s divine sonship, His kingly, priestly, and prophetic office. They come to us and, according to our capacity to understand, proclaim to us the Gospel of the Kingdom. They strive to meet our various needs in daily life to the best of their ability. Whenever we experience the warmth they bring us, we too, like them, receive the one Baptism and the one Holy Spirit. In the Most Holy Eucharist—which perpetually commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ—we listen to the word of God and receive the one Body of Christ and the one Blood of Christ from the chalice. From the Body and Blood of Christ, we draw abundant nourishment, receive strength, conquer death, and attain eternal life.
In Saint John the Baptist, we can see a prefiguration of the passion of Jesus. Herod wanted to put John to death, yet still sought to spare him. The same was true of our Lord Jesus Christ when He stood before Pilate’s judgment seat. Saint Mark the Evangelist records: “As soon as it was morning, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. And Pilate asked Him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ And He answered him, ‘You have said so.’ And the chief priests accused Him of many things. And Pilate again asked Him, ‘Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.’ But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate wondered.” (Mk 15:1–5). From this, it is not difficult to see that all that Saint John the Baptist endured on this day bears a striking resemblance to what Jesus experienced when He stood before Pilate and faced the judgment of a human tribunal. Herod imprisoned John because John, in accordance with the teaching of Moses, courageously reproved Herod (cf. Mt 14:4). Pilate judged Jesus according to all the procedures of a human court; the root cause, however, was that through His word and actions, Jesus revealed to the world a merciful God. The chief priests, elders, and scribes of the Jews, feeling their positions greatly threatened by all that Jesus had accomplished, sought to eliminate Him in order to preserve their own standing.
Dear brothers and sisters: Saint John the Baptist, undaunted by the power of Herod Antipas, remained ever faithful to the word of God. Even while imprisoned, he continued to explain the law of God to Herod Antipas, attempting to admonish him, until his martyrdom—thus giving us a living example. Today, we too are called to bear witness to Christ. When we bear witness to Christ, we must imitate the virtues of Saint John the Baptist, holding fast to the truth and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may all be conformed to Christ.
To be conformed to Christ, we must interiorize the spirit of the word of God. The spirit of the word of God is love. Love enables us not to hate those who harm us, but rather to recognize those brothers and sisters who are in urgent need of our proclamation of God’s word, those who are in need of our care, and those who are marginalized and urgently need us to listen to their needs. When we obey the teachings of the Savior and follow His instructions to draw near to the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick, the imprisoned, and the marginalized, we bring not only our own love and concern, but also the love of Jesus Christ and Saint John the Baptist. For we firmly believe that the God proclaimed by Jesus is utterly faithful and abundantly merciful, and He is ever ready to rescue.
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that your family may walk in the way of salvation and, attentive to what Saint John the Precursor urged, may come safely to the One he foretold, our Lord Jesus Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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