Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Or Optional Memorial of Saint Callistus I, Pope and Martyr Luke 11:37-41 Compassion is the best soap for the soul
In today’s Gospel, Jesus dines at the home of a Pharisee. His host is shocked that Jesus does not wash His hands according to the ceremonial law. For the Pharisees, every tiny detail of washing was prescribed—how much water, how it should flow, even the sequence of movements. To neglect any part was considered sinful. But Jesus points out the deeper truth: what matters is not the washing of hands, but the cleansing of the heart.
This moment invites us to reflect on three things.
First, hospitality. To invite someone to your table is to invite them into your life. Jesus accepted such invitations readily, and He was not afraid to be Himself—authentic, natural, transparent. We, too, are called to let others know us as we really are, without hiding behind masks or fear of judgment. True friendship and Christian community grow only when we share our lives honestly.
Second, inner cleanliness. Jesus reminds us that holiness is not about outward appearances, but about removing the stains of resentment, bitterness, or selfishness from our hearts. A person clean within is recognizable: gentle in speech, faithful in prayer, uninterested in power or gossip.
Third, real cleansing. Purity of heart is not achieved by rituals alone but by love in action. When we serve others, especially the poor, our hearts are purified. Spending time with the elderly, visiting the sick, or comforting those in pain not only brings them hope, it transforms us. Compassion is the best soap for the soul.
Let us remember: God does not look at our hands to see if they are ritually washed, but at our hearts to see if they are filled with mercy. To be clean before God is to love.
Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 11:29-32 Privilege comes with responsibility
In today’s Gospel, the crowd asks Jesus for a sign, something spectacular to prove He is truly sent by God. But Jesus reminds them that the greatest sign is standing right before them: He Himself is God’s gift and revelation. Like the Ninevites who recognized God’s voice through Jonah, and the Queen of Sheba who sought wisdom from Solomon, the people were being invited to recognize and respond to God’s presence in Jesus. Yet many failed to see Him for who He was.
This passage is a sober reminder that privilege always comes with responsibility. The people of Jesus’ time had the extraordinary privilege of seeing and hearing Him directly, but their refusal to accept Him became their condemnation. The same lesson applies to us today.
We have two great privileges as Christians. First, the Word of God—the Bible. It is easy to forget how much it cost to place Scripture into our hands. Saints like Wycliffe and Tyndale gave their lives to make God’s word accessible to ordinary people. Today, we can own a Bible freely, yet how often do we allow it to gather dust? A book that costs so much deserves more than to be unread.
Second, we have the freedom to worship. Many before us shed their blood for this right. Yet, tragically, some use that freedom to neglect worship altogether. Freedom is not a license for indifference—it is a responsibility to give God the honour He deserves.
If we possess Christ, His Word, and His Church, then we are heirs of the greatest treasures of God. But with these gifts comes the challenge: will we truly live them, or take them for granted?
Let us recognise Jesus as the sign of God’s love today—and respond with faith, gratitude, and fidelity.
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Luke 17:11-19 “Go, your faith has saved you”
When we listen to today’s Gospel, we are invited to walk with Jesus as He enters a village where ten lepers cry out for mercy. Leprosy was more than a physical illness. It was a sentence of exclusion, shame, and despair. They were considered cursed, punished by God, already half-dead. And yet, it is precisely these wounded and rejected ones who approach Jesus and dare to call Him by name: “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
This is already a lesson for us. Only those who know their need dare to call upon Jesus with such intimacy. The powerful, the proud, those who feel secure in themselves, do not call Him by name. But the poor, the sick, the sinner—these feel close enough to trust Him, to cry out with confidence. And Jesus does not disappoint them.
He does not recoil in fear, nor condemn them as others did. He speaks a word that restores their dignity: “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” His word is enough. While on the way, they discover that their wounds are healed. Healing begins when they set out in trust, walking on the path Jesus opens before them.
But the Gospel surprises us. Out of the ten, only a Samaritan, a foreigner, returns. He falls at the feet of Jesus, praising God. He recognises not only the gift but the Giver. He has discovered the glory of God revealed in Jesus: a glory not of power and conquest, but of tenderness and mercy.
This is what saddens Jesus—not the lack of “thank you,” but the failure to recognise God’s love shining forth in that moment. Gratitude is more than good manners. True gratitude opens our eyes to God’s presence in our lives. It saves us from the illusion that everything we have is owed to us or is the fruit of our own efforts. Gratitude teaches us to see our lives as grace, as gift.
Dear brothers and sisters, are we like the nine who take the gift and move on, or like the one who returns to glorify God? How often do we pause to say: “Thank You, Lord, for the Gospel that has made my life beautiful—for family, for faith, for moments of forgiveness, for the strength to love despite difficulties”? Gratitude enlarges the heart and allows faith to blossom.
Jesus’ final words to the Samaritan are words for us too: “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” Not only healed, but saved. Salvation is more than physical health; it is discovering the joy of being loved by God and living in that love. May we learn to walk this path of faith, gratitude, and praise, allowing the Gospel to heal the “leprosy” of our world, and to make our lives a hymn of glory to God.
全属于祢 
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