Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Or Optional Memorial of Saint John XXIII, Pope Beyond Hearing: The Joy of Keeping God’s Word St John XXIII Luke 11: 27-28
Today’s Gospel reminds us of the true source of blessedness. When a woman praises Jesus by exclaiming, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” Jesus does not deny her words but deepens them. He points us to the foundation of all happiness: hearing the Word of God and keeping it.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is indeed blessed, not only because she bore the Son of God, but because she listened with faith and surrendered to God’s plan. At the Annunciation, she declared: “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Her greatness lies in her obedience of faith, a model for all of us who long to belong to God’s family.
This is the challenge and the invitation for us: are we a blessing to our families and neighbours? Do our lives reflect the joy of those who hear God’s Word and live it? Jesus tells us that true kinship goes beyond flesh and blood. Our deepest identity is found in being children of God, adopted into His family through Christ. This transforms all our relationships and calls us to a higher loyalty—to seek first the Kingdom of God.
To hear without keeping is to welcome the Word only superficially. Blessedness comes when the Word takes root, filling the soul with grace, shaping desires, and conforming the heart to God’s own will.
Let us pray for this hunger: that our lives may be filled, not with passing satisfactions, but with the abiding joy of those who hear the Word and keep it.
Let us pray for the grace to hunger for God’s Word, to prefer His will over our own, and to become a blessing to those around us by living as faithful disciples. Amen.
Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Luke 11:15-26 Fill our souls with Spirit
In today’s Gospel, Jesus faces an accusation: his enemies claim that his power to cast out demons comes not from God, but from the prince of demons. Unable to oppose him by truth, they resort to slander. Yet Jesus responds with clarity: a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Evil does not destroy evil; rather, when demons are expelled, it is the sign that God’s reign is breaking in and—Satan—has been defeated by one stronger, Christ the Lord.
From this passage, we are taught several truths. First, slander is a weapon of the helpless. When we cannot defeat someone by honest means, we may be tempted to twist their actions or motives. How often do we assume the worst, repeat malicious words, or harm reputations with gossip? The Gospel calls us to examine ourselves honestly, for such sins corrupt and destroy both community and soul.
Second, the kingdom of God is revealed not in words alone, but in lives healed and made whole. Jesus came not only to save souls but to bring full restoration—body, mind, and spirit. Wherever love overcomes hatred, health replaces brokenness, and grace restores sinners, the kingdom is present.
Finally, Jesus warns that there is no neutrality in the spiritual life. A heart swept clean but left empty will not remain so for long. Evil returns unless goodness fills the space. To resist sin is not enough; we must fill our lives with prayer, charity, and virtue. As a garden must be planted with flowers to keep out weeds, so must our souls be filled with the Spirit to keep out darkness.
Let us, then, not stand aloof but choose Christ daily, allowing his Spirit to dwell richly within us, so that the kingdom of God may grow in us and through us.
Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Or Optional Memorial of Saint Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and his Companions, Martyrs Or Optional Memorial of Saint John Leonardi, Priest Luke 11:5-13 Prayer does not change God’s mind!
The Gospel today invites us to reflect on the parable of the friend who comes knocking at midnight. In the culture of Jesus’ time, hospitality was sacred. A traveller arriving late at night could expect not just food, but abundant care. Yet the man in the story found himself unprepared, his cupboards bare. Out of desperation, he goes to his neighbour, knocking with shameless persistence until he receives some bread.
At first glance, we might think Jesus is telling us to pester God until He gives in. But that is not the lesson. This is a parable of contrast. If even a reluctant neighbour, disturbed at midnight, finally rises to help, how much more will our loving Father in heaven respond to His children? God does not answer grudgingly; He answers out of infinite love.
The Gospel of Luke reminds us that the Lord is not indifferent to our struggles. “Because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Luke 1: 78-79). God knows our needs before we ask. He is not a stranger behind a locked door, but a Father whose heart is always open.
Still, Jesus calls us to persistence in prayer. Why? Because true prayer is not about changing God’s mind but opening our hearts. Persistence purifies our desires, tests the sincerity of our faith, and draws us closer to the Father. Every prayer is answered—sometimes with the gift we ask for, sometimes with a greater gift we did not expect.
So let us pray with trust, not as beggars at a closed door, but as beloved children who know their Father’s love. With confidence, we can say: if we ask, we shall receive; if we seek, we shall find; if we knock, the door will indeed be opened.
全属于祢 
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