Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
7 September 2025
No room for compromise
What does Christianity have to offer that’s worth giving up everything else for, including one’s own life? More than we can fathom! Jesus offered his disciples a priceless treasure – true happiness, peace, and joy unending with the everlasting Father in his heavenly kingdom. And what does it cost to be a disciple of so generous a Lord who wishes to share everything he has with his beloved disciples? Jesus was utterly honest and spared no words to tell his disciples that it would cost them dearly to follow after him. To gain all, one must be willing to give all. There can be no room for compromise or concession with God. We either give our lives over to him completely or we keep them for ourselves. Paul the Apostle says, ‘We are not our own. We were bought with a price’ (1 Cor. 6:19b,20). That price is the blood of Jesus shed for us on the cross. Is your life given over to God?
Count the cost
Why does Jesus say we must ‘hate’ our families and even ourselves? The expression ‘to hate’ often meant to ‘prefer less’. Jesus used strong language to make clear that nothing should take precedence or first place in our lives over God. Jesus knew that the way of the cross was the Father’s way to glory and victory over sin and death. He counted the cost and said ‘yes’ to his Father’s will. We, too, must ‘count the cost’ and be ready to follow Jesus in the way of the cross if we want to share in his glory and victory. What is the ‘way of the cross’ for you and for me?
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
14 September 2025
‘The cross is the school of love.’ – St Maximilian Kolbe teaches that suffering, when united with Christ, transforms us, deepening our capacity for love and self-giving.
‘Do not seek a cross—the right one will find you. But when it comes, take it up bravely, without counting the cost.’ – St Padre Pio encourages trust in God’s providence, accepting the trials He permits for our sanctification.
‘The weight of the cross may press heavily on your shoulders, but it is the very thing that will keep you close to the heart of Christ.’ – An anonymous reflection highlighting that struggles, rather than driving us away from God, draw us nearer to Him.
‘God does not measure the cross by its size, but by our willingness to carry it.’ – This insight reminds us that what matters is not the magnitude of our suffering, but the love and trust with which we accept it. Even small, daily sacrifices – borne with patience and faith – an become powerful offerings when united to Christ’s own sacrifice.
‘The cross is the ladder to heaven.’ – St Rose of Viterbo’s words reveal that trials, rather than obstacles, are stepping stones to holiness. When we embrace our crosses instead of resenting them, we participate in Christ’s redemptive work and ascend toward eternal joy.
Each of these quotes emphasizes that carrying our cross is not meaningless suffering but a path to spiritual growth, love, and union with Christ. Whether through Scripture or the wisdom of saints, we learn that our trials, borne with faith, become means of grace and transformation.
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Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
21 September 2025
Encountering Christ:
- God Calls Me to Be a Steward: The Gospel uses the image of a steward to describe our place in this world. A steward is entrusted to care for the master’s property until his return. Time on earth is limited, and we will eventually need to give an account of our stewardship. ‘In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!’ (Pope Francis, March 19, 2013). What precious goods has the Creator placed in our care?
- Be a Smart Investor: We need to be wise and prudent with worldly investments to provide for ourselves and those under our care. This Gospel challenges us to apply similar strategies to our spiritual lives. We have been given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit for our growth and the good of the Kingdom of Christ. No one has the same gifts because all of us have been given unique and irreplaceable missions by God. May we properly evaluate our investment priorities so that we won’t gain the whole world but end up losing our soul. (Matthew 16:26)
- A Training Ground: Today’s parable invites us to train ourselves in the art of spiritual investment once we have set our priorities. The Church has left us with troves of spiritual treasures; we can learn from the lives of the saints, their spiritual writings, and commentaries on the Scriptures. We have recourse to the sacraments, different forms of prayer, retreats, and spiritual guidance. The resources are there. How is the Lord inviting us to deepen our relationship with him?
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Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
28 September 2025 • World Day of Migrants and Refugees
Encountering Christ:
- Wealth/Duty: In this parable, Jesus does not condemn wealth, per se, but reminds all of us that the wealthy have a serious moral obligation to help the poor. For generations, Catholic social teaching as Pope Leo XIV reminds us, has emphasised this responsibility: ‘…Remember the aphorism of the Fathers, ‘Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him, you have killed him…’ (Gaudium et Spes, no. 69). ‘Love for others, and in the first place love for the poor, in whom the Church sees Christ himself, is made concrete in the promotion of justice’ (Centesimus Annus).
- Warn My Brothers: The rich man cared little for Lazarus, but he apparently loved his five brothers enough to ask that they be warned: ‘lest they too come to this place of torment.’ How many of us go about our day-to-day duties, forgetful of the poor, distracted, worried, or simply refusing to acknowledge the prophets of our time – saints, good priests, holy friends – who remind us daily that Jesus Christ came back from the dead to save us from our sins?
- Christ Became Poor for Us: Christ became poor so that we might be wealthy – not one day in heaven, but right here, right now. He bestowed on us a royal identity through our Baptism. He feeds us with bread from heaven to sustain us on our journey. He forgives our sins so that we can begin over and over. He also showers us with spiritual wealth by the love he sends us through others. Our hearts are full of gratitude, but are we willing to become poor for others in imitation of Our Lord? To give without counting costs? To serve the outcast? To defend the weak?
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