September 5, 2026 Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Luke 5:33-39
Today is Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time. The passage taken from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke presents to us the dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
First, Luke tells us: “One Sabbath, as Jesus was passing through a field of grain, His disciples began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them. Some Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?'” (cf. Luke 6:1-2).
We often hear the Evangelist mention the law of the Sabbath. In the time of the Old Testament, how did the Lord ordain the Sabbath? At that time, the Lord commanded Moses to tell the whole of Israel: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your animals, nor the stranger who sojourns among you” (cf. Ex 20:9-10; Dt 5:13-14). Now, what was forbidden on the Sabbath? Let us consider a few examples: “For six days you may work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, even during the seasons of plowing and harvesting” (cf. Ex 34:21); “Six days you may gather it [the manna], but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none” (cf. Ex 16:26); “Do not light any fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day” (cf. Ex 35:1). When those Pharisees who disputed with Jesus saw His disciples picking and eating the heads of grain in the field, they concluded that they had broken the law of the Sabbath, forgetting that the very essence of the Law is love.
In the example that Jesus cites from the Old Testament — namely, that of David, who, by royal command, came to Abimelech the priest and asked him for food (cf. Luke 6:3-4; 1 Sam 21:2-7) — we see that Abimelech the priest did not violate the law of Moses. Rather, he removed the bread of the Presence, which belonged to the worship of God (at that time there was only the bread of the Presence, and no other bread), and gave it to David, replacing it with fresh bread offered to God, thereby manifesting God’s mercy and compassion. In the same way, Jesus also wishes to show us through this that He is not a harsh God, but a God who loves mankind. He desires that we no longer think of God’s law as the Pharisees did, but that we contemplate God’s law and live out God’s love for the world according to the way He Himself has taught us.
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
September 4, 2026 Friday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Luke 5:33–39
Today is Friday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke presents us with a dialogue between the scribes and Pharisees and Jesus. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
First, Saint Luke tells us that the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and pray often, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees; but Yours eat and drink.” (Luke 5:33) Saint Luke describes it this way because he invites us to pay attention to our fasting. For at times we, too, are like the disciples of John, the scribes, and the Pharisees — so fond of external fasting yet making light of the fast of the heart. In truth, afflicting the body does not conform to the teaching of God, for the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. For Christians, external austerity does not matter; what matters is the fast of the heart — that is, emptying one’s own heart so as to receive the light of the Holy Spirit and rediscover the Word of God within our hearts.
Next, Jesus speaks of the bridegroom and the guests (cf. Luke 5:34–35), intending to remind us that He is always present in His Church. His guests — those brothers and sisters who gladly welcome Jesus, live according to His holy will, receive the sacraments frequently, and go to confession often — are always with Jesus; they continually converse with Him through prayer. Therefore, for these brothers and sisters, there is no need to fast, for their hearts are in tune with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. But for those brothers who reject Jesus and refuse to live according to God’s holy will, because they are unwilling to welcome Him, the devil seizes the opportunity to enter and snatch away the seed that Jesus has sown in our hearts. If they wish to welcome Jesus back, they have need of fasting and prayer, imploring God’s mercy for the sins of negligence they have committed.
Finally, Jesus tells a parable. Through the teaching of patching a cloak and putting new wine into fresh wineskins (cf. Luke 5:36–39), He tells us: the cloak serves to cover our body and soul. Before we have received the Baptism of Christ, our soul is full of the stains of sin. Sin makes one uneasy; and when we feel that unease, out of instinct we, too, act as our first parents did (cf. Genesis 2:7), sewing patches onto our garments, thinking that in this way we can keep our transgressions from being exposed. The more we do so, the more evident our flaws become. We are like wineskins, vessels chosen by God. God pours all kinds of graces into our hearts, inviting us to live according to His holy will and to live out the spirit of children of God. Yet among us there are many brothers and sisters who do not follow Saviour’s instructions, nor live according to His teaching. Outwardly they appear to be perfect Christians, but inwardly they are not. Therefore, Jesus wishes to admonish us through this parable: we must follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and, according to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, be thoroughly transformed; only then can we put on Christ, only then can Jesus Christ dwell within us, and only then can we truly become Christians in the full sense of the name.
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
September 3, 2026 Memorial of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church Gospel: Lk 5:1-11
Today is Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time. Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church. The recently published Roman Missal tells us: Saint Gregory the Great (540-604) belonged to a Roman patrician family and served as a magistrate before embracing the monastic life. He acted as Papal Legate at Constantinople and was elected Pope in 590. He tightened Church discipline and liturgical practice, reorganized the lands belonging to the Holy See, and sent Saint Augustine to convert the Kingdom of Kent. He is consequently called the “Apostle of the English,” and, thanks to his theological and pastoral writings, is a Doctor of the Church.
Today’s Scripture, taken from the Holy Gospel according to Luke, presents to us the scene of Jesus calling His first disciples. Let us try to understand it.
First, Saint Luke tells us: “While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.” (Lk 5:1)
The crowds who had heard Jesus teach in the synagogue of Judea regarded Him as a celebrity, a Messiah they had long awaited. Therefore, they pressed in on Him, wanting to hear the word of God from Jesus. Today, such phenomena frequently occur in our own churches. We often idolize certain priests who are particularly gifted in preaching or in theology and philosophy. Sometimes, we also look upon our Diocesan Bishops as idols. In our eyes, they are representatives of Christ. However, they are still ordinary people just like us; they are chosen by God to shepherd us. If our focus is merely on their outward appearance, then we are no different from those who pressed in on Jesus, for what they focused on was merely superficial, rather than the words spoken by Jesus Himself.
Next, a scene that deeply moved me appears: “He saw two boats there at the water’s edge. The fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.” (Lk 5:2-3) Unlike the actions of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus took the initiative to choose Simon, and from Simon’s boat, He proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom to those on the shore.
Another deeply moving scene is the dialogue between Jesus and Peter, and the narrative of Peter obeying Jesus’ command to “put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” (Lk 5:4-11) This reminds me of the reflections of two former Popes. When speaking of “putting out into deep water and lowering your nets,” Saint Pope John Paul II said: “These words… invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm, and to look to the future with confidence.” (cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte, Apostolic Letter, n. 1). Pope Benedict XVI, in his Letter to the Catholics of China, also quoted these words to encourage Chinese Catholics. The Pope said: “The Church is also called to be a witness to Christ, looking to the future with hope, and considering the new challenges facing the Chinese nation when proclaiming the Gospel.” (cf. Letter to the Catholics of China, n. 3). However, in my view, these words of Jesus are an invitation to us. He invites us to leave our former way of life, to cast aside our burdens, to follow the holy will of God’s word, and to always be prepared to make sacrifices for the sake of God’s word.
Today, by faith, and through the reception of Baptism in Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we are called to be children of God. Due to human weakness, we are often timid. Because of this timidity, we may also ask Jesus to leave us. But Jesus asks us to leave the environments we each consider safe and comfortable, to trust in Him always, and to act according to His holy will. He is always with us, He always works with us, to save all those caught in the snares of the world, freeing them from this world that leads to ruin and destruction, and from the trials of the devil and his agents. Having experienced the love God bears for them, may they resolve, like Peter, James, and John, to bravely leave everything behind and follow Christ.
On this Memorial of Pope Saint Gregory, the Great, let us unite our hearts and minds and offer our prayers to God:
O God, who care for your people with gentleness and rule them in love, through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory, endow, we pray, with a spirit of wisdom those to whom you have given authority to govern, that the flourishing of a holy flock may become the eternal joy of the shepherds. 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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