Saturday in the 26th Week of Ordinary Time, October 3, 2026

Luke 10:17-24

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”  At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” 

The seventy-two disciples had been sent out in pairs to various villages and towns.  Some planning must have gone into this enterprise so that a village or town was not neglected because another one had been visited twice.  The disciples had gone out to the towns as though fugitives from a sacked city,  with nothing beyond the clothes they wore.  But rather than returning to the Lord Jesus exhausted and dispirited, they arrive excited and joyful.  Many miracles and exorcisms had occurred through their hands: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us.”  The fearsome, snarling, sneering demons who had taken up residence within a person as though in a nest, were subject to these followers of Jesus who, up until a very short time before, had little to recommend them.  But they know their own mortality and that they had not accomplished these deeds on their own.  In fact, no one knows better than the miracle worker that it is the Lord who actually heals.  The healer feels no power running through him and may not even be aware that the person for whom he is praying has recovered.  There are no flashes or thunders, there is no music to announce the fact of the completed healing or successful exorcism.  It is clearly God, and him alone: “because of your name.”

The Lord then makes an extraordinary statement: “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.”  The Greek is better translated, I beheld Satan, as a flash of lightning, fall from heaven.  The verb tense of “I beheld” is in the aorist tense, not the perfect, indicating a completed action in the past that was done once.  Here, Jesus speaks of an event so distant in the past that neither the universe nor time existed yet.  It is in an instant following the creation of the angels in which they were offered a choice as to their eternity.  We read of Lucifer’s choice: “How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who did rise in the morning? How are you fallen to the earth, that did wound the nations? And you said in thy heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the most High’ ” Isaiah 14, 12-14).  And to this, the Archangel Michael cried out, “Who is like God?”  They fought and the devil fell from heaven “down to hell, into the depth of the pit” (Isaiah 14, 15).  He fell as “a flash of lightning”, that is, instantaneously and shedding his brilliance in his plunge, for he went from being the brightest of the angels to the darkest.  This statement the Lord Jesus made told his disciples why his name had such power: because he was God.  Only God could have made such a comment.  “Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.”  The “serpents and scorpions” of which the Lord Jesus speaks are the demons, so here he confirms the power he has given them.  “Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”  That is, written in the Book of Life in heaven: “There shall not enter into [heaven] any thing defiled or that works abominations or makes a lie: but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb” (Revelation 21, 27).  

The Lord gave his disciples no chance to react to this because “at that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.”  That is, the Lord and the Holy Spirit rejoiced together, Jesus rejoicing through the Holy Spirit, the Embrace of Love that bound the Father and Son together.  He prays aloud, and in so doing reveals the mystery of his Divine Sonship: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”  This reads very much like something we might expect to find in the Gospel of St. John.  Jesus reveals the mystery here in order to show his disciples that they are cooperating in the work of grace, and that they are the ones “the Son wishes to reveal” the mystery of God as his divine Father.  The Son does not tell them this before they go to the villages and towns because it would have been too much for them then.  But now, seeing his power work through them, they are ready.

Friday in the 26th Week of Ordinary Time, October 2, 2026.                                                                                            The Feast of the Guardian Angels

Exodus 23, 20-23

Thus says the Lord: “See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and heed his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority resides in him. If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out.”

Belief in guardian angels already existed among the Jews when the Lord Jesus was born, and he teaches about them in Matthew 18, 10: “See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”  We see guardian angels at work in the Acts of the Apostles, as when St. Peter’s angel releases him from prison (cf. Acts 12, 3-29).  Devotion to them spread under the Franciscans and, later, the Jesuits, through the Middle Ages into the days of the Counter-Reformation.  Local feasts in honor of these angels sprung up here and there, and then in 1607 a universal feast for them was established by pope Paul V. The popular “Angel of God” prayer was written in the early 1700’s at the latest.

The theology of the guardian angels is well laid-out in the text of the First Reading for today’s feast, although the angel spoken of is protecting a nation rather than an individual.  “I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.”  Almighty God was speaking to the Hebrews at the time of their exodus from Egypt and their wandering in the wilderness, and we can understand him speaking to us now.  In his marvelous Providence, Almighty God sends an angel from heaven — that is, he assigns and dedicates an angel in heaven — to go “before” each of us as our leader and guide “on the way”, that is, during our pilgrimage to God which we make throughout our lives.  He will “bring” us to the place God has prepared for us.  The angel will not force us to go or defend us against our will.  He will bring us to this place prepared by God.  Of this place “prepared” for us, the Lord Jesus himself says that he will address the righteous thus at the final judgment: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25, 34).  A marvelous destination, indeed!  On that day, the just will declare, “He has set me in a place of pasture. He has brought me up to the water of refreshment” (Psalm 23, 2).  The Lord urges us, “Be attentive to him and heed his voice.”  Our guardian angel speaks to us in the depths of our conscience, helping us to understand what to say or do, or whether to act at all.  He helps us to know how to act or speak when we know that this is necessary.  He warns us of dangers to our soul and of occasions of sin.  “Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin.”  To rebel against our guardian angel is to rebel against God, with whose holy will his is perfectly aligned.  Our rebellion is thus not so much against the angel but against Almighty God, and so we do not ask the angel’s forgiveness but God’s.  “My authority resides in him.”  The Lord entrusts the guardian Angel with great responsibility and the angel carries it out perfectly.  It is we who fail and fall into sin. Because divine authority is given to the angel, we have greater reason to obey him.  “If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.”  Our enemy is the devil.  If we set our will to resist the devil, we will see how God acts as our champion through our guardian angel.  “My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out.”  A single angel suffices to “wipe out” the hordes of these peoples, so how superior he is to a single demon tempting us.  The various peoples mentioned in this verse can be understood as signifying the demons who assail us on a daily basis, but as “the angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them” (Psalm 34, 8), we have nothing to fear, and, in due time, God will wipe them out — remove us from them, drawing us into heaven where we will join with the angels in proclaiming his glory.

Thursday in the 26th Week of Ordinary Time, October 1, 2026

Luke 10, 1-12

Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”  In times when the crops had been watered with plenty of rain, but not too much; and plenty of sun, but not too much; and there had been no pestilence or hordes of insects eating the crops, nor foreign invaders to burn it as it stood in the field, there might be a glorious harvest.  The crops would still have to be gathered in quickly, as the window for harvests tended to be narrow.  A miscalculation could ruin a perfectly good crop.  At harvest time, every hand is needed to get the crop in before it spoils or rains.  The Lord says, “The harvest is abundant.”  That is, the world abounds in people who could be saved.  They are attracted to the Lord’s call and yearn to hear more and to be baptized.  They long for the Sacraments.  They cannot wait until they are enfolded within the saving embrace of the Holy Church.  “But the laborers are few.”  On farms in the western part of our country, at least, laborers are flown in from Australia to work in the fields because of the shortage of farm workers here.  These men are hired by blocs of farmers and they go from farm to farm.  If these men were not available, we would have food shortages in our country.  In the “field” of the world, all possible hands are working night and day to bring in the harvest of those to be saved.  Missionaries bring the Gospel to the people of far-off or isolated lands; priests and men and women religious along with lay folks teach RCIA classes, teach CCD or religion classes in the Catholic schools, and meet with people individually who are searching for the truth.  Likewise, lay people working and living in the world attract their neighbors and colleagues to the Faith through the good example of their lives.  And still, these are hardly enough.  Christ calls all those who believe in him to labor for the salvation of the world.  On America’s farms until fairly recently, even the small daughters in a farming family were expected to do their part at harvest: they would form part of a chain of women and children who continuously supplied the men gathering the harvest with cold water.  All of us can offer prayers and sacrifices for the good of souls.  No prayer is wasted, no sacrifice overlooked. 

“So ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”  The Lord addresses these words to us.  Some laborers are reluctant to be sent out: they might fear the workload or not think themselves skillful or strong enough.  But there is a place for every believer.  Some prefer the shade they have now to the sun they will face in the field, but these will miss out on the joy and celebration once the barns are filled.  If they exclude themselves from the work, they will be excluded from the reward.  The Master of the harvest does indeed send out laborers for his harvest.  We know that he goes into the marketplace at all times of the day to hire them, if only for an hour or two (cf. Matthew 20, 1-26).  But the ones he desires to hire and send out must still agree to be hired.  And so we pray that they will respond to the grace and inspirations of God to work for the conversion of the world.

“Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”. The Lord changes his image here from the harvesting of crops to going into the world as sheep among wolves.  He means for us to win souls by our innocence, but also to lure in the wicked by allowing them to see us as prey.  Indeed, those who work for the Master are often killed as they do his work.  These hear a voice from heaven, declaring, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them” (Revelation 14, 13).  But innocence also has the power to convert the wicked: “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver, from your vain behavior in the tradition of your fathers, but with the Precious Blood of Christ, as of a Lamb unspotted and undefiled” (1 Peter 1:18–19).

Today we celebrate the patron of the missions and missionaries, St. Therese of Lisieux. She only left her native country of France once in her life, however filled with zeal for the conversion of the world she offered the agony of her sufferings caused by tuberculosis for this cause, and only on the Last Day will it be revealed how many souls she assisted in saving.

Wednesday in the 26th Week of Ordinary Time, September 30, 2026

Luke 9, 57-62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

What would we do if we were first century Galilean men and women, listening to Jesus of Nazareth preach and watching him perform miracles, and he turned to us and said, “Follow me?”  We know what Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew, and the other Apostles did.  But if we were in the place of these men when the Lord called, what would we do?

In the today’s Gospel reading, we see how different people had the opportunity to closely follow the Lord Jesus, and chose not to do so, or announced that they would only follow him on their terms.  

“As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey.”  According to St. Luke’s chronology, Jesus is leading his disciples to Jerusalem, where he will be killed.  The fact that a man declares, “I will follow you wherever you go”, tells us that he has not considered very deeply what following the Lord may mean.  Therefore, the Lord replies to him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”. That is to say, Even now conditions for me and my disciples are hard; what will it be like when there is tribulation?  St. Alphonsus Liguori interpreted this answer of Jesus to refer to his crucifixion, when he would literally have no place for his head.

“And to another he said, ‘Follow me.’ ”  (It is not clear when this next calling occurs.  It seems unlikely to come directly after the first one).  These are the words of invitation or even of command which the Apostles heard and which they obeyed.  As a result they spent nearly every day and night for three years with the Son of God.  What price would we pay for a chance like that?  People spend much money visiting faraway places to gaze at ancient ruins or magnificent scenery, or to receive an education or at a world class university.  Would it not be worth selling everything we have to spend three years in the intimate company of the God who came to earth?  But what does this man, afforded the opportunity of his lifetime, do? He says, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”  He as much as says, I will come after you, but only when I am good and ready.  Now, the man’s father is not dead.  When a Jew died in the days of Jesus, according to the law, he had to be buried before sundown.  Jesus is meeting this man either on the open road or in a town, but if the man’s father had just died, he would be in the house mourning and preparing for the burial.  The man wants to stay with his family until his father does die, and then he will follow Jesus.  This reveals a complacency or even cowardice that does not belong in a believer.  

“Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”  Those who live preach the kingdom of God.  All others are “dead”, “For to me, to live is Christ: and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1, 21), and “Amen, amen, I say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you” (John 6, 54). 

“I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”  We recall how Peter and Andrew, James and John, and Matthew were called in the very midst of their work with their hands full of fishing nets and coins owed to the king.  They could have pleaded for time to make an end of their business and then to follow him on the spot, but they got up at once and left everything.  In this regard also recall our Lord’s words: “He that loves father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.”  The Lord must come first in our lives.  Jesus answers the man, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”  When we look back, we feel and false nostalgia and are distracted from the urgent work the Lord has for us,  in the case of plowing, to take one eye off the track the plow is making for a split second is to go awry.  We must hasten to plow and to plant while we can because the harvester is close behind us: “Surely I am coming soon!” (Revelation 21, 20).

The Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, September 29, 2020

Revelation 12, 7-12

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them.”

Previous to the reform of the Church calendar in the 1960’s, each of the archangels had his own feast: September 29 for St. Michael; March 24 for St. Gabriel; and October 24 for St. Raphael.  In addition to his primary feast, St. Michael’s apparition on Mount Gargano in Italy was celebrated on May 8.  Of all the myriads of members in the angelic choirs in heaven, only these three are named in the Holy Scriptures.  The Orthodox, however, honor seven particular archangels, four of whom are named in apocryphal books.  The archangels form one of the nine choirs or ranks of angels.  We do not know how many angels are found in each choir.  The Book of Revelation 5, 11 speaks of ”thousands of thousands” of angels altogether.  While we highly esteem the archangels who have played significant roles in the history of the salvation of the human race, it is the Seraphim who make up the highest choir or rank.  The archangels make up the eighth rank, just above that of the angels proper.  The primary purpose of all the angels is to glorify God and they do so without ceasing down through eternity.  Various members of the choir of angels (“messengers”) proper are assigned as guardians of members of the human race.  Others act as messengers from the throne of God to his lowly human subjects on earth, bearing particular messages or inspirations.  The most important messages are entrusted to the archangels (“chief messengers”), as St. Gabriel was entrusted with the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In order for us to appreciate something of the glory of the archangels, it is necessary for us to keep in mind that they are not human.  We often picture them as winged people wearing white robes, but that is not really how they are portrayed in the Scriptures.  Neither Michael nor Gabriel are described at all, for instance, and Raphael only appears in human form in order to interact with humans.  The angels of the famous vision recorded in Isaiah 6, 2 are seraphim, and they are described solely in terms of having six wings.  Perhaps the fullest description of an angel occurs in a vision recorded in the Book of Daniel: “And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw: and behold a man clothed in linen, and his loins were girded with the finest gold: and his body was like the chrysolite, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as a burning lamp: and his arms, and all downward even to the feet, like in appearance to glittering brass: and the voice of his word like the voice of a multitude” (Daniel 10, 5-6).  He is described as a creature of brilliant light.

We read in awe of the great battle in heaven described by St. John in the first reading for today’s Mass: “War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.”  Unlike the epic tales of wars in heaven told by the ancient Greeks, the Norsemen, and the Hindus, this war is short and the outcome is never in doubt.  Perhaps if we could measure it in human terms it would have taken place in the fraction of a second.  The will of God is carried out in heaven immediately.  It is done so in this battle through God’s angels, who cast their own kind, who have rebelled against God, into the fiery pit of hell. 

What we know of St. Michael’s service to God is recorded in the vision of his  leading the charge of the good angels against Lucifer and the wicked angels who followed him, and in the Book of Daniel, where he is called the protector of Israel, and so the Church, the New Israel, considers him her protector as well.  The Jewish Mishnah contains an interesting detail concerning the expulsion of the wicked angels into hell, that one of these grabbed hold of Michael to pull him down with him, but Michael was freed by the power of God.  The Letter of Jude relates an old tradition that Michael fought the devil over the body of Moses after the latter’s death: “When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses, he dared not bring against him the judgment of railing speech, but said: The Lord commands you” (Jude 9).  In his commentary on the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, St. Thomas Aquinas relates an ancient prophecy that St. Michael will slay the Antichrist on the Mount of Olives at the end of the world.  In the traditional Mass, St. Michael’s name is invoked in the Confiteor and in the blessing of the incense.  His name is also his battle cry: “Who is like God?”

St. Gabriel plays a part in the Book of Daniel, explaining visions to the prophet.  Most especially we remember him as announcing the conception of St. John the Baptist to Zechariah, and then striking him dumb when he was slow to believe his message; and as bringing the joyous news of the conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  Many commentators also consider that he was the angel who spoke to St. Joseph in his dreams: first, to take Mary as his wife, and second, to take the newborn Christ and the Virgin Mother to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod.  Tradition tells us as well that he brought to the Blessed Virgin the news of her Son’s Resurrection.  This tradition is the foundation for the Marian antiphonal, Regina Caeli.  His name means “God is my strength”.

St. Raphael plays a crucial role in the Book of Tobit, being sent by God to aid the family of his sorely tried servant Tobit by recovering money owed to him and also by intervening against a murderous demon so that the righteous Sarah can marry Tobit’s won Tobiah.  Raphael then returns to Tobit and heals his blindness.  He is considered the patron saint of travelers and is also called upon by the sick.  His name, in fact, means, “God heals”.

Monday in the 26th Week of Ordinary Time, September 28, 2026

Luke 9, 46-50

An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”  Then John said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.” Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

The first sentence of the lectionary translation of this passage from the Gospel of St. Luke has this: “An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest.” The modern English definition of “argument” implies heated, personal debate. But the Greek text has this: “And there entered into them a thought (or “reasoning”, “calculation”) which of them should be greater. The Apostles were not breaking into bitter factions among themselves as to the ranking of each. In fact, a careful reading of the Greek text of the next verse reveals something else: “But Jesus seeing the thoughts of their hearts, etc.” Luke does not say that the Lord Jesus came upon the Apostles bickering at each other. He sees what is in their hearts and addresses it before it comes to the surface. He does this out of love for them to prevent dissension, especially dissension based on a false understanding of what it meant to him to be “great”.  The Greek text goes on to say, “Taking hold of a child, he caused it to stand in his presence.”  The Greek word translated here as “child” signifies one between the ages of three or four and ten. Jesus “takes hold” of such a child who is perhaps playing nearby in the house and sets it before him, facing the Apostles. He then addressed them: “If anyone should receive (“accept”, “welcome”) should welcome this child for the sake of my name, he receives (“accepts”, “welcomes”) me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me forth.” 

Now, a consideration of the Lord’s words here raises the question of whether he actually settled the questions that had arisen in the minds of his Apostles. But the Lord Jesus often worked in this way, addressing the deeper question behind the evident issue. He does this, for instance, when St. Jude asks Jesus, at the Last Supper, why he does not reveal himself to the whole world. The Lord seems to speak in a round about way: “If any one love me, he will keep my word. And my Father will love him and we will come to him and will make our abode with him” (John 14, 23). In this way Jesus told him that he would indeed reveal himself to the world — through the Apostles. But now Jesus speaks of a toddler representing him, even bearing him in his own little person so that anyone who received him for the sake of the Lord’s name welcomed not only Jesus but also the Father who had sent him forth. Jesus does not settle (or unsettle) the Apostles’ thoughts by saying, Peter is the greatest, John is the greatest. Rather, he sets up a model for them to follow: the one who bears Christ in his heart  And does his will is the model to measure oneself against. 

And the Greek word translated here as “receive”, “welcome”, or “accept” may be understood in the literal sense, but is better understood in the sense of “to believe”. That is, we “receive” Christ through faith. And when we “receive” him through faith, we strive to carry out his holy will. It is not enough to receive Christ or his minister into our physical presence. That may only be done through courtesy. But to believe in him, to seek to do his will, that is true welcoming, true acceptance, true reception.

The 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 27, 2026

Philippians 2, 1–11

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

In teaching basic Christian morality to pagan converts, St. Paul always pointed to the example of Christ.  We see him do this in his letters to the Ephesians (in chapters five and six) and to the Colossians (in chapters three and four).  In the second reading for today’s Mass, St. Paul first speaks of the need for generosity and unity for pleasing Christ, and then, with the words, “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus”, he tells them how they might live in Christ.  This “attitude” is one of obedience even unto death, and the most savage kind of death.  In the Christian this might take the form of martyrdom, but it always means holding all things — all things — as nothing, for the sake of Christ.

Paul considered the absolute obedience of the Lord Jesus to be his most important characteristic.  It is what makes the Son of God who he is.  The Son is equal in power and glory to the Father but his obedience makes him distinct from the Father.  In his subjection to the Father the Son makes himself subject to us as well, and dies on the Cross because of the Father’s love for us and his desire for us to be saved: that is, the Son loves us because the Father, whom he loves, loves us.  We can imitate the Son in this and in doing so, we can live out the life he commands us to live.  His first commandment is to love God with all our heart and soul.  We see the Lord adoring the Father with his prayers and by fulfilling the Father’s will.  Seeing this, and with the help of grace, we may also adore him with our prayers and by fulfilling his will for us.  The second commandment the Lord Jesus gives us is to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Now, very many people make themselves unlovable and even despicable to us, and yet we can love them, that is, have a will for their conversion, knowing that the Lord Jesus himself loves them.  We love the ones he loves for his sake.  We often do this in small ways in our daily life: our spouse or parent or sibling has a friend or relative that we find simply odious, and yet for the sake of the person we love, we are civil to that odious person.  As Christians, we pray for the conversion of people who openly offend God and scandalize or even persecute the faithful.  We do this for the sake of Christ who died for them, too, even if these people refuse to receive the graces he won for them.

Not long ago there was a kind of fad among Christian youth groups. The leaders of such groups taught kids to look at difficult moral situations and then to think, What would Jesus do?  This was their method of teaching practical Christian morality.  Problems arise with this strategy because there is not a human alive who can rightly envision how the Lord would act in a given situation.  Jesus’s actions on earth were inherently unpredictable.    He never did what people expected him to do.  What we can and ought to do, though, is to imitate his virtues.  Let us, then, imitate the Son’s obedience particularly so that we might share in the Son’s inheritance.