Weekly Reflections
Exaltation of the Cross, September 14, 2025
Jesus is the manifestation of God’s love; what is my response?
Gospel: John 3: 13–17
God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life
Jesus is the manifestation of God’s love; what is my response?
John 3: 13–17
No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
God, you are rich in mercy because of your great love for us, even when we have been steeped on our own bad behavior. Bring us to life in Jesus, raise us up with him, and, when our time on earth is complete, seat us in the heavens with him. For we are your handiwork, created in Christ for the good work you have prepared in advance so we may live with and in Him forever.
Companions for the Journey
"FIRST IMPRESSIONS" EXALTATION OF THE CROSS SEPT. 14, 2025
Numbers 21:4b-9; Psalm 78; Philippians 2: 6-11; John 3: 13-17
by Jude Siciliano, OP
Lent begins on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. So why are we celebrating the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in mid-September? Before we turn to today’s scripture readings, let’s reflect on the feast.
Some history: The feast dates back to the fourth century. Tradition holds that St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, discovered the True Cross in Jerusalem around the year 326, during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This is a very ancient feast, sometimes called the Triumph of the Cross. But unlike Good Friday, which focuses on Christ’s suffering, this feast highlights the victory of the Cross. Through the Cross came salvation and new life for us. Once a symbol of humiliation and execution, it is now a sign of God’s love, triumph, and glory.
What is the “glory” of the Cross? Sadly, we have become so accustomed to seeing the Cross—inside and outside churches, on rosaries, around people’s necks, even as tattoos, or home décor—that we often miss its deeper meaning. Sometimes it is reduced to a fashion statement or a good-luck charm. Because it is so omnipresent, we can lose the sense of shock it originally evoked—the cruelty and pain it represented.
The first generation of Christians was not blind to the barbaric reality of crucifixion. They had seen their messianic hero tortured, bloodied, mercilessly nailed to a crossbar, and lifted up for all to see and mock. To unbelievers, it was unthinkable that this hated symbol of defeat and death could be cherished as a sign of salvation and a pattern for life.
As followers of Jesus who “exalt” the Cross, we are called to live as witnesses to his life—a life that often stood in contrast to the world. The glory of the Cross is seen in those who follow Christ daily in word and deed. Through his death and resurrection, our lives now show forth his presence in the world.
Our Gospel today comes from the account of Nicodemus’ nighttime visit to Jesus, where Jesus explains God’s saving plan by recalling Israel’s time in the wilderness. The first reading from Numbers presents the scene: the people complain against God and are punished when God sends fiery serpents among them.
When they repent, they are healed by looking upon the bronze serpent Moses lifted up on a pole: “...whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, they lived.”
Centuries later, the author of the Book of Wisdom described Moses’ bronze serpent as a symbol of salvation. That is why today’s reading from Numbers is paired with the Gospel: just as the serpent was lifted up for Israel’s healing, so too Jesus is “lifted up” on the Cross so that “everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
Today’s feast reminds us that discipleship involves embracing the Cross in our own lives. We are encouraged not to glory in worldly power, but in the power of God revealed in weakness. The feast proclaims that suffering and death are not the final word—for through the Cross come resurrection, hope, and glory.
In Israel’s tradition, the wilderness was remembered in two ways: as a place of intimacy and covenant with God, and as a place of testing—a test Israel often failed. Today’s reading from Numbers highlights that failure.
And yet, how profound and incomprehensible is God’s love for us! John proclaims that God’s love is total and universal—not limited to a privileged few, not restricted to those who already believe. God’s love is for the whole world, so complete that God did not spare even the Son in order to reveal it.
First, God’s love was shown in the Incarnation, and then in Christ’s saving death: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” John says that God both “gave” and “sent” the Son. “Gave” stresses the generosity of God’s gift; “sent” underscores the mission entrusted to Jesus. Either way, we are the beneficiaries of this divine love.
The Cross was the instrument God used to conquer sin and death. By it, the way to God has been opened for us. Through the Cross we die to sin and rise to new life. What a mystery: that what once brought death has become the path to life! No wonder we “exalt” the Cross today.
In his book, “Seasons of Grace: A Spiritual Companion to the Liturgical Year,” Walter Kasper reminds us that the Cross does not “prettify” the truth about humanity and our sins (p. 107). It reveals us as we really are and exposes what we do to one another. He calls it the “unvarnished truth”—a truth that, once faced, can set us free.
When we look to the Cross, we confront the difficult truth about human sin. Yet the Cross also reveals the even greater truth of God’s mercy: God forgives, reconciles, and saves in love. Instead of condemning humanity, God offers salvation through the Cross.
We live in its shadow. First, it reveals the truth of our lives: we are broken, finite, and unable to save ourselves. But the Cross also reveals the depth of God’s mercy and reconciliation—gifts we cannot earn but receive freely through Christ.
A young woman shows off her newly-received engagement ring. A newly married couple wear wedding bands that were blessed and exchanged, along with life-promises, at their wedding ceremony. These material signs are reminders and assurances that they will be there for each other “in good times and in bad.” When troubles do arise a glance at the ring serves as a reassurance of a commitment made in love.
The Cross is that for us – a reminder of a promise God made in love with us and was fulfilled when “the Son of Man [was] lifted up.” We have not finished our individual desert treks yet and there probably will be lots of missteps before our journey is finished. In the meanwhile, we do not lose hope as we face our shortcomings and the road that still lies in front of us. Lest we get discouraged and fear dropping out along the way, we look to the Cross and the promise of continual help it offers to us. God has given us concrete signs of God’s love for us; in Jesus, the Word made flesh and in the Cross which he embraced on our behalf.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- Do I consider this a strange feast, where we exalt an instrument of torture?
Does this feast encourage us to look at the cross in a different way, say, as a sign of hope? - In the early church, the figure on the cross was usually the risen Jesus. What did that represent for them?
What could it represent for me? - How effective is guilt as a religious motivator?
How effective is fear as a religious motivator
How effective is love as a religious motivator?
Historically, what have religious used most often?
Why? - From Jude Sicliano, O.P.:
What do I see when I look at the cross?
How does the cross affect the Christian life I try to lead? - What do I think John 3:16 really means?
Do I really believe God loves the world?
Di I really believe God loves me? - Do I secretly harbor a fear of being judged by God and do not really believe the words of John 3:16?
What would help me overcome fear which cannot coexist with love? - Am I afraid of perishing?
What are my thoughts about eternal life? - What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
Is there a corresponding action to my belief?
Some have suggested that believing in Jesus equates with receiving Jesus… what would it mean to receive Jesus? - Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
God does not force us to be saved; we have free will. Looking back on the last 24 hours, where have I chosen wisely and where have I chosen unwisely? - Do we sometimes forget that we are not required to condemn others—that it is God’s job. If God so chooses…?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
It is hard for us to believe in the goodness of God, of God’s unconditional love for a lot of reasons. Some have experienced love that seems to subtly give a message that we would be more loved if we were richer, smarter, more successful, a better child, a better lover, a better parent or friend. Religion has not helped, either. Often God has been painted as a cruel and implacable judge who is always disappointed in us as human beings—our stories of Adam and Eve, the Flood, even personal and natural disasters often seemed to be the result of God’s anger. The phrase “Jesus died for our sins” reinforces our sense of God’s disappointment with us. We are sinners, failures, and GOD IS NOT HAPPPY WITH US!
Self-examination and guilt are very important tools in our religious toolbox. It becomes easier to believe that Jesus died for our sins, died to appease an angry and vengeful God, than it is to believe that Jesus WAS God who died because he loved us. He showed us that there were no lengths that God would not go to prove that love—even death on a cross.
I spend some time every day this week thinking of the cross as symbol of love, of hope and blessing. How can I respond to such love?
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
I read Isaiah 43: 1-7, and really imagine God speaking these words of love to me personally. Then I write my response.
And now, thus says Yahweh, he who created you, Jacob, who formed you, Israel: Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are mine.
Should you pass through the waters, I shall be with you; or through rivers, they will not swallow you up. Should you walk through fire, you will not suffer, and the flame will not burn you.
For I am Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Since I regard you as precious, since you are honored and I love you, I therefore give people in exchange for you, and nations in return for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I shall bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.
To the north I shall say, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back!' Bring back my sons from far away, and my daughters from the remotest part of the earth,
everyone who bears my name, whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, whom I have made.
Poetic Reflection:
Each of these poems is a response to the reality of Jesus’ cross. Enjoy:
“On the mystery of the Incarnation”
It’s when we face for a moment
the worst our kind can do, and shudder to know
the taint in our own selves, that awe
cracks the mind’s shell and enters the heart:
not to a flower, not to a dolphin,
to no innocent form
but to this creature vainly sure
it and no other is god-like, God
(out of compassion for our ugly
failure to evolve) entrusts,
as guest, as brother,
the Word.—Denise Levertov
“Messenger”
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.—Mary Oliver
Closing Prayer
From Love, A Guide for Prayer, by Jacqueline Bergan and Marie Schwan
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 7, 2025
The real cost of discipleship
Gospel: Luke 14: 25–33
“If you do not carry your own cross and come after me, you cannot be my disciple.”
The real cost of discipleship
Luke 14: 25–33
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love..
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Teach me, O Lord, to have trust in your love and goodness. I ask you to show me what I am holding onto too tightly to be your true disciple. Teach me not to invest my whole life in people or approval or things that increase my pleasure and personal comfort at the expense of others or the world at large. Teach me not to settle for the comfort and security that keeps me from hearing your call.
Companions for the Journey
By Jude Siciliano, O.P., from “First Impressions”:
I will be tempted to apologize to the congregation this Sunday after I read this gospel passage. What a “turn off” it is with its talk of “hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sister and even [your] own life;” and then it asks us to “renounce all your possession,” if we are to be Jesus’ disciples. On first hearing the passage listeners are going to think Jesus inhabited another planet. He certainly sounds far removed from our lives, we who do all we can to: love our parents, especially as they age or become infirm. We agonize over how to best care for them—take them into our homes? bring in home care? place them in a nursing home? We supervise their medications, take them for innumerable medical procedures and checkups, visit them as much as possible, make frequent phone calls, etc. So what is all this talk about “hating” parents?
And what’s all this talk about “hating” wives? (I suppose here he really means spouses.) With divorce rates approaching 50% in our country and dioceses and parishes doing their best, both before and after weddings, to foster healthy marriages and keep them in tack. How is “hating” your spouse going to sound to married couples in the congregation and those hoping to get married? The list of “hatings” goes on in this reading, but you get the point. Could Jesus really mean such harsh sounding statements? And if he does, are we ready to renounce all possessions to follow him? Do we know anyone who has? And if they have, who is buying their food, paying their health insurance and housing them?
This is an obvious place for a little research and so I go to the biblical commentaries for help. The word for “hate” is taken from the Greek word that is used in biblical passages to suggest a lesser love. It doesn’t refer to the rage and fury that hate signifies in our language. It could mean having a secondary attachment to someone or thing, the kind of detachment that would enable a person to turn away from whomever or whatever distracts them from following Jesus and the demands of discipleship. God wants us to love and that certainly includes our families and spouses. Remember, Jesus called his disciples to love even enemies; he certainly would include in that love those closest to us, like parents, spouses, children and brothers and sisters. Notice that he mentions the cross right after speaking about “hating.” To bear the cross here doesn’t mean putting up with those afflictions in life over which we have little say. Rather, we can see from the context that we may experience pain as we make choices to stay the course--- to continue with Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and suffering.
Having said all this, Jesus is still placing demands on those who would join him on his journey. Let’s not presume the listeners in Jesus’ day were any less put off by what Jesus just said. They may have been poor, but they cherished possessions too and, like us, probably wanted or needed more of them. Family life, if anything, was even more precious to Jesus’ contemporaries. While we prize individuality and being able to “go it on our own,” at that time, a person’s very identity depended on membership in family, clan and religious sect. Prestige and reputation were intimately linked to the social standing people had in their social network. If a person at that time packed up and decided to set out on their own—they would, in effect, lose their identity.
Earlier in this gospel Jesus spelled out what characterized the new family relationship he came to establish. His new family would be those who hear and respond to God’s word (8:21; 11:27-28). So, if we are to be part of this new family, other ties and allegiances are to be secondary and even put aside, if necessary. As his followers we are in a new network of relationships, a new family that consists of those who have, like us, chosen to follow Jesus. In this family we will be mixing it up with a whole new set of people—those with and those without wealth and social status. We heard two weeks ago that “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” Jesus has come to establish something very different from our usual ways of relating. Obviously it is not going to be “business as usual.”
This new mixture will be quite a shock to the system of those who were well-connected in life. Reminds me of the day I was walking through the prison yard with some new volunteers. They were friends from a nearby parish and had given up their Sunday morning with family and friends to worship with inmates at the prison chapel. One looked around at the scene of hundreds of inmates milling around in the yard we were walking through and said to me, “this is really stretching me.”
There it was—“stretching!” What he was saying was, how strange he found it, coming from his family and social background, to be in such a very different place. And pretty soon he was going to be celebrating mass with some of them! You could almost hear him saying to himself, “How did I get here anyway?” Following Jesus is what got him away from his familiar setting to “stretch” into a new world. He continued visiting the prison monthly and came to know a whole new family, people he would later refer to as “my brothers at the prison.” Quite a stretch!
But not to be entered into lightly, Jesus warns us. Think it over, Jesus says. Be like a person who is about to build a tower—will you be able to finish the job? Be like a king going to battle and “decide” if you can win the battle with the resources you have. Notice the examples Jesus uses—“building” and “marching into battle.” The first suggests a long project. We Christians are in a building process, the job feels half done at times as we look at our shortcomings and inadequacies in discipleship. We are not yet the model, generous and self-sacrificing disciples we ought to be. Well, don’t lose hope, the tower project isn’t finished yet. Or, as the saying goes, “Be patient with me, God isn’t done with me yet.”
The battle metaphor also gives us cause to pause and “decide” if we want to make the sacrifices needed to be a disciple. It is a harsh metaphor, in this present time of war, but it does suggest the arduous efforts and even pain sometimes asked of disciples. Even though we have already given our “Yes” to following Christ, there are times in our lives when we are asked to make choices that put our discipleship on the line. Some options require us to say “No” to what seems like attractive or easier ways of acting. These choices may put us at odds with family, friends or our surrounding culture; but we know we must choose in ways that echo the gospel we believe. At these times, today’s reading reminds us that we are in the midst of building a tower and that there is more to be done on the project. Or again, that we are in a battle and we need to gather our resources if we are to succeed. Do we have enough to make the right decisions, pay the price, endure the subsequent consequences of our choices? Probably not—but then, none of us have enough resolve, wisdom and strength on our own.
That is why we come to church, gather with one another to hear the Word and then draw close to be fed from the table. Look around at who is here with us, people we don’t usually see during the week, or socialize with on weekends. But here we are in a most cherished and important place, and whatever the political persuasion or economic and social status of those with us—nevertheless, we are a new kind of family, with people we now call sisters and brothers. That stretches us, doesn’t it? Just as Jesus predicted when he invited the crowds he met on the road to turn towards him and make him the priority of their lives.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
“If you do not carry your own cross and come after me, you cannot be my disciple.”
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Considering the Issues at Hand:
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a Service of the Irish Jesuits:
In prayer it is just me and God; for a while. All else is given up. As I pray, I reflect on the words: “whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. “Carry the cross” reminds me of good Friday, and Jesus stumbling under the weight of his own cross.
For me, the cross is not inflicted on my life by the outside but part of my makeup. I reflect on my body’s and mind’s infirmities, the addictions, temptations and desires that rob me of my freedom. Carrying my cross seems not so much solving these problems, as learning to live with them, unsurprisable and humble. My possessions and comfort zones are challenged by my growing relationship with Jesus. What would help me loosen my grasp on these false securities? I turn to Jesus and ask his help so that I may trust Him fully, trust in the future fully. I pray that Jesus will prepare me and set my feet on the path to my heavenly home, which is with Him.
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
“Nobody gets into Heaven without a letter of reference from the poor” —James Forbes as quoted by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI.
Who is going to write that letter of reference on my behalf? Who?
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. Thus Joseph, also named by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated “son of encouragement”), a Levite, a Cypriot by birth, sold a piece of property that he owned, then brought the money and put it at the feet of the apostles.
Poetic Reflection:
What does this poem by Father Ed Ingebretzen, S.J., say to me about the distance I have yet to travel to be a true disciple of Jesus?
“Lonely Christ”
Lonely Christ
I pray to you.
You are a puzzle to me
as those I love
always are.My soul is at odds
with the words.
What mad reach of mine
touches any thread of you?
Or what of mine, arms or eyes,
ever shares with people
where they may lie—
as they always do—
in a hard place!What of mine shall make good
their taking of a breath,
their rising, caring, feeding
their sleeping in fear—
what shall make good
their slight faith,
their enormous promises
made in iron
for a child, man, a woman—what of mine shall be with the people
as they caress a special grief
fondled again and again
In bludgeoned love?What do I bring
with which to clutch
the merest hint of your shadow?
Poetic Reflection:
What does the poem by Father Michael Kennedy, S.J., tell me about taking Jesus at face value, about actually hearing what Jesus was saying so long ago?:
When Luke uses what We would call exaggeration As he has Jesus describe how The new disciples are to act and Where their priorities must be We tend to dismiss it because We still often refuse to take The Gospels on their own Terms and instead we Read them in light Of our images and Concepts and so Yet again we may Miss the point **** And of course He is Not asking for families to Be split apart nor for them To hate each other nor is He Really thinking that they should Go about being unprepared in even Little things but He is warning Them that truly nothing can Replace their commitment To Him and to the Ministry He will Entrust to them And which will Be demanding **** We are also in Trouble if we think of Discipleship as just another Workplace to be abandoned After hours on the job for this Jesus calls us to also be Christian (gasp) even On weekends **** © Michael J. Kennedy 2007
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord, help me take those steps that will lead me to participation in your Kingdom. Help me to turn away from anyone or anything that might hamper my journey. Help me to be generous of heart toward those who are struggling with these same issues. Above all, keep me on the path that leads ultimately to you.
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 31, 2025
What is true humility and why is it hard to attain?
Gospel: Luke 14: 1, 7–14
When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to pay you
What is true humility and why is it hard to attain?
Luke 14: 1, 7–14
On a sabbath he went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.
He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.
“Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
“Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Spend several minutes in silence, centering yourself and opening your heart to the presence of Jesus.
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
From “Living Space” a service of the Irish Jesuits, 2022:
Lord, you invite us to your table and ask us to live the truth of who you are and who we are, for that is humility. We pray for hearts that serve without counting the cost or looking for rewards.
Companions for the Journey
From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Jesus seems out of character in the advice he gives today to his host, “one of the leading Pharisees.” Is he assuming the role of a social consultant, advising ambitious people how to get ahead while avoiding public embarrassment?
If you want a higher or more prominent place at an important function then choose the lower seat. Then your host will publicly usher you to a higher place at the table. You’ll look great and everyone will note your moment of glory! Who wouldn’t want such an esteemed place and the admiring and envious glances of peers? So, is Jesus suggesting a pretense of humility to get the first place at important gatherings? This doesn’t sound like the Jesus who had a bad reputation for eating with the disreputable. His table companions certainly wouldn’t have merited for Jesus a, “Here, come up higher,” from a leading Pharisee. He is not suggesting a feint in the direction of humility to earn public esteem. He is doing what he has consistently done, teaching his disciples to be truly humble, putting aside ambition for worldly honors.
Jesus isn’t suggesting we slack off at school; or work less diligently at our jobs; or not accept compliments for the good things we do. He wants us to use our talents as best we can since they are gifts from God and will not only benefit us, but can be used for the well-being of others. But Jesus is reminding us that, behind all our attempts to work hard and do good for others, we must reflect on our reasons for doing what we do. As Christians we try to share the gifts of life we have, not so that we stand out, but so that others can stand up with us, relish life and celebrate the God who has blessed us.
Even more than now, in the ancient Near East, meals were guided by strict rules: the guests were carefully chosen; the foods specially selected; the seating arrangements scrupulously determined. There may not have been place cards, but people had their assigned places nevertheless. Jesus may have been the one invited to dine by his host, but before the meal even started, Jesus became the host, as he suggested a change in the rigid seating arrangements and instructed people about the seats they had chosen. Remember that this is a Sabbath meal. The very people Jesus says we should invited to a “banquet” are those who would have been excluded from the Sabbath meal at this distinguished Pharisee’s home, and possibly from the synagogue itself, because their social or physical condition would have labeled them as sinners. But the Sabbath meal was to be a place that celebrated God’s choice of an enslaved people and God’s gift of liberation for them. When God found them, the Israelites were slaves. God reversed their condition and invited them to the table. The Sabbath meal not only celebrated God’s gracious actions on their behalf, but it also reminded them that they were to do for others what had been done for them: free the enslaved; welcome the stranger; care for the children and protect the widows.
I am sure Jesus doesn’t want us to stop having meals and sharing special occasions with those nearest and dearest to us. That’s not what he means when he turns to the Pharisee who is hosting him and tells him to invite those to lunch or dinner who can’t return the favor. If we make a point to invite the least, “the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind...,” then while at table with them, we might enter into new relationships. Not only would the poor be fed, but we would discover the Christ who identifies most closely with them.
Those neglected by our society not only need our material gifts, they also need the dignity that comes with being acknowledged; they need the gift of our friendship—and we need theirs as well. Together with them, we will experience the God Jesus has revealed to us, who loves us, not because we are distinguished or esteemed in our world, but because God has chosen to love us, rich and poor, haves and have-nots. The reality is that we seldom, if ever, go outside our social and familial circles. Sitting at table with one another will remind us of what God has done for us and who we all are, children of a loving and caring God, who has gifted each of us, whether we are hosting the meal or called in from the highways and byways of life to share in it.
No, Jesus hasn’t had a shift in character. He isn’t suggesting subtle ways to climb the social ladder so as to get places of esteem and influence. Rather, he wants those who have—to reach out to those who have not. And if we sit across the table from each other, who knows where our conversations will lead? Imagine the dinner scene: food and drink being passed and people who previously didn’t know one another, involved in animated conversation. What might we hear at the table as we get to know the guests we have invited? We might hear and come to understand their need for: food and shelter; protection for their rights; good and safe schools for their children; a voice to speak out on their behalf in the community; health care and medicine for their families; help to process legal documents; employment, etc. We rarely get to know those whose lives are at the other end of the spectrum from us. But if we did, by having a dinner together, or initiating a conversation with them, we might come to recognize the others as unique persons and we might come to know their needs as well. Then, first hand, we will know what we must do to be Jesus’ faithful disciples.
Of course, it wouldn’t all be sad talk, would it? At table, we would share stories of our family origins, our children’s antics, recipes and traditions. At table we would discover how much we have in common as human beings, we would see less of what separates us and more of what unites us. Are we being too idealistic? Are we describing a purely imaginative scene that has no parallels in the “real world?” Maybe. But here at Eucharist we are gathered around a shared meal. The kind Jesus has described. He has invited us and we have accepted the invitation. Granted, our parish communities can be pretty homogenous. But if we look a little more closely, we will notice more than enough diversity, especially these days in our very mobile world and with the arrival of so many immigrants.
There are many differences that would keep us separate. Nevertheless, here we are, together at the same table. We will listen to our common family story. It goes all the way back to Abraham and Sarah and to such sages as Sirach, in our first reading. In our worship our story focuses on Jesus and his Spirit makes his words relevant to our day. We may be very different in the world, but here at Eucharist we are family. What have we learned about one another at this table? When we leave this worship space, what can we do for others, those whom Jesus would have us love the way he loves them?
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to pay you
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- What in this gospel sounds very noble and right, but is ignored as not practical by most of us?
Henri Nouwen says that the way to follow Jesus is through “downward mobility”. What does that mean, in real-life terms?
Is it attainable? - What forms of self-indulgence do I engage in, because “I am worth it”?
Who might suffer or be neglected in the process? - What about our culture encourages us to put ourselves in the forefront of discussions or events?
What elements of our everyday existence (such as social media) encourage self-promotion? - What value do we place on celebrity?
What value do we place on insignificance?
What value do we place on popularity?
What value do we place on ordinariness?
What value do we place on success?
What value do we place on obscurity?
What value do we place on money ?
What value do we place on service? - What individuals do I think it is important to cultivate, and why?
What, in others, am I impressed by? - To whom do I give either time or money without expecting a payoff? (whom do I invite to the banquet?)
- How do I rank myself in relation to others?
- Have I ever felt overlooked or not especially welcome at a gathering of friends or family?
How did I feel?
How did I react? - Who, in our society, are constantly sent to the wrong end of the table?
Who, in our society, are not invited to the table at all? - Have I ever been “surprised” by my special welcome at an event or at someone’s home?
How did it feel?
To whom can I extend a special welcome as an “honored guest”, metaphorically speaking? - Why is it important to welcome the poor and marginalized to our tables, and not just donate money to good causes?
- What is humility?
What is false humility?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
We are each special and unique. But sometimes we need to be more special or more unique than everybody around us. We sometimes need to have the “honored place” at the table of life, and unconsciously expect others to agree. There are subtle tools we employ to get others’ attention, to arouse other’s envy, to stand out from the crowd—self-promotion, complaining about how unappreciated we are, humble bragging, and fame-by-association, to name a few… So we need to look to Jesus as our model; his actions and words were focused on the Kingdom, not on himself. What of my actions/words put the poor, the marginalized or those otherwise unnoticed in the spotlight? What of my actions/words point to me? What lies have I told myself about how under-valued I am compared to others? Have I ever stopped to consider those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder who work so hard for so little? Do I publicly engage in a type of false humility, which might encourage others to tell me I am selling myself short, and expect others to let me know again and again how valued I am? Do I feel the need to demonstrate how close to God I am or how important I am to other important people? What steps can I take to fix at least one of these behaviors?
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Consideration:
Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
How difficult it is to practice the art of humility! How difficult it is not to take the best seat, grab the best bargain, and be the first in line for the concert I must see! Jesus asks us to think of others, to be more award of others’ needs, step back a bit and allow others to be center stage for a change. At the end of each day I take some time this week to look back and examine the subtle or not-so-subtle ways I stepped in front of others to gain attention, praise or some advantage. In my heart, I look at those I might have overlooked in my need to be noticed and instead, I put myself in their shoes. And finally, I consider those times when I was irritated, disappointed or angry because I was not noticed enough, was not praised enough. I ask Jesus to help me with my humility issues.
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
“When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to pay you.” We all know that we may not each take this injunction literally. We also know that it is hard to be generous in the face of hostility or lack of appreciation for our generosity. But rather than dismiss the idea out of hand, try to think of some way that you can help the poor, the lame and the blind reach the table of plenty. In addition, there must be someone in your life that you can help in some way, either monetarily or with your time, who cannot, or will not, return the favor. Do it anyway. And, let go of the resentment at doing so.
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship
Try to pray the following Litany of Humility every day this week:
“Litany of Humility”
Author: Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val y Zulueta
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus. That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
Poetic Reflection:
This poem captures the sense of true humility, which starts with honesty before God, and a plea for God’s help:
IV
How calmly I balance here,
On the verge of loving you
again, in ways
I have forgotten.You love out of your surplus;
I cannot accept out of my need.
How clever this pride
that dresses as humility
that makes of weakness
an excuse for mediocrity.I am a weak man, Lord—
wrapped simply but completely
in my refusal to try.Depart from me.
How can you bear my company
and even wish to cleanse me?
I remember you would have washed
Peter's feet, his hands, cleaned
away the remnants of his life.
Yet there was no room in his smallness
for your greatness.Lord,
if you should but take this withered hand
of mine, and straighten it in love
then suddenly my square world
would go round, my eyes take on a new source
of light, then suddenly,
I might know the urge to fly—From “War Poems; Eight days in Retreat”, from Psalms of the Still Country, by Ed Ingebretsen, S.J.
Suggested reading:
- Nouwen, Henri J.M., The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life
- O’Connor, Flannery, “Revelation” from Collected Works
Closing Prayer
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 24, 2025
What is “the Kingdom” and what does it take to get a place in the choir?
Gospel: Luke 13: 22–30
Strive to enter through the narrow gate.
What is “the Kingdom” and what does it take to get a place in the choir?
Luke 13:22–30
He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Lord, I ask for inner freedom and the humility to understand that what counts is not my past successes or failures, not what religious groups I belong to. Help me to see that my destiny depends on the outcome of my encounter with you. Jesus, where, exactly, do I encounter, you? [pause to reflect on your answer]. Help me to know you, my Lord, and to understand what “knowing you” really entails.
Companions for the Journey
From “First Impressions 2022”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
I wonder if the person who asked Jesus, “Lord will only a few people be saved?” was asking out of curiosity, or because he or she was feeling cozy and part of the “in crowd.” Did this person feel safe and secure thinking that what Jesus was saying about being rejected at the end time could not possibly apply to him, or her? Was the “someone” who asked the question one of those traveling with Jesus towards Jerusalem? Did the questioner think that membership in Jesus’ band automatically brought dividends with no further self-investment; just being with the Teacher would be enough?
The opening of today’s gospel narrative should cause us in the pews and at the altar to squirm. Are we just going along with the group, we who are members of the community and lead respectable lives? We follow the rules and fulfill our obligations. Is that enough? Maybe for us and those who admire us – but not for Jesus. Instead of playing the numbers game, answering the question about how many are to be saved, Jesus deflects the questioner’s inquiry. Forget about how many will be on the final guest list for the banquet, look instead to your own quality of discipleship. Jesus says we are to “strive” to enter through the narrow gate. From the Greek for “strive,” (“Agonizesthe”) we get our word “agony.” This gives us a sense of what effort will be involved to get through that gate. The word could be applied to a strenuous athletic effort, the energy, pain and dedication athletes put into competition like the Olympics. Years of herculean efforts have brought them to the games, it has been a “narrow gate” indeed for them. Jesus calls his disciples to such efforts on behalf of the reign of God. He knows the goal is worth the effort.
If we are not careful, this passage can be a trap for us listeners. In calling us to “strive,” to work hard to enter “the narrow gate,” to be “strong enough,” the impression we might get is that if we put enough effort into it, we can enter the reign of God. All it requires is a lot of sweat, dedication and perseverance. But remember that grace lies beneath the surface of the biblical stories. Entrance through the narrow gate begins with an invitation from God. Having heard and accepted the invitation, we are in the realm of God’s grace, the constant source, energy and inspiration for our “striving.”
Today’s Isaiah and gospel readings show how inclusive is God’s saving outreach. We may have our notions of who is “in” and who is “out”; who is worthy and who is not – but the gospel cautions us not to jump to conclusions and not to be smug. What kind of logic and world are we being invited into when the first are last and the last first? That’s certainly not the world to which we are accustomed. Of course not, it is an entirely new world – a new way of reasoning, judging, rewarding and giving entrance. In fact, the gospel suggests we put our math and standards in storage and let God be God when it comes to who comes through the admissions gate. We should tend, Jesus reminds us, to our own concern. We have heard the gospel, accepted Jesus’ promises, known the difference grace can make in our lives – and now we can strive to reach the finish line – thanks to God!
To help make the point that we do not earn entrance to the reign of God on our own, today’s account begins with a reminder of place. Remember Jesus is on the road, making his way to Jerusalem. A major section of Luke’s gospel (9:51-18:14) takes place on the road to the holy city. So, the reading begins with a reminder that the “striving,” the difficult task and struggle needed to accomplish our salvation, will be first achieved through Jesus’ dying and rising in Jerusalem. Jesus will faithfully fulfill his mission to preach and practice the good news, even though it will mean his death. In today’s passage, as Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem, Luke would not have us forget that the source of our new lives is Jesus; through him we are given the desire and commitment to “strive” to get through the narrow gate.
In Jesus’s society, when people ate together they became part of the inner circle, they were like family members. Those who are locked out of the house, in his brief parable, are claiming prerogatives from Jesus because, they say, they belong to his “company,” they ate and drank with him and his disciples. Based on their standards of acceptance, they are right, they belong with Jesus. But Jesus says more is required of those who sit at table with him. For those of us with him at this Eucharistic table, more is required than membership in our church, parish and community. Salvation is not guaranteed to a privileged group who claim rights based on membership. Those requesting admission at the door proffer still more credentials to get in. They claim Jesus taught in their streets and sat among them in their synagogues. Jesus’ response is abrupt. More than hearing him is necessary; more than being able to recite correct doctrine is needed to make us people who bear his name – Christian. We have to put his words into practice. But how inclusive should that practice be? As wide as the world in which we live. We must be open to all, “from the east and the west, and from the north and the south,” for those who are good, no matter what their background, will be invited to dine with Jesus and the great ancestors of faith, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Such a vision must have startled Jesus’ hearers who thought they would be among the privileged because they could claim Jesus as “one of ours.”
Why is this gate “narrow?” Gustavo Gutierrez, OP, puts it this way:
The narrow door is clearly restrictive not in reference to people but in terms of the “right” to be saved. Salvation does not come from a mere physical closeness to Jesus (vv. 26-27). It is not enough to have eaten and to have drunk with him or to have listened to him in the public squares. It is not the consequence of belonging to a specific people either, in this case the Jewish people (v. 28). The text does not say it, but in fidelity to the spirit of Jesus’ answer we could add that salvation is not limited to one race or one culture. Salvation comes when we accept Jesus and start to follow him. This is the narrow door, the only door to life and it is a demanding entrance.
We may be too restrictive in our estimation of where God is present and acting. We tend to look only within our church walls to see God’s special ones; we tend to rank one denomination over another as “truer” than others; we tend to make too sharply-defined distinctions between the useful and useless; we tend to jump to conclusions about people’s worth from how they look and speak, the jobs they have or don’t have, the income they make, their place of origin. Well, the last shall be first and the first last and “they” will come from all the points of the compass to sit at the table. So, we had better put on our biblical lens, look again and, if we have not already done so, start “striving” to live as people with another vision of reality.
When we enter the final and everlasting banquet, Jesus tells us, we will be surprised at those enjoying the feast. God has a pretty broad vision and we will be surprised at those who “made it” through the narrow gate. If we accept this vision of the end time then we should start preparing or it now. We need a change of glasses; we need to look at our world through the biblical lens and act accordingly.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
Strive to enter through the narrow gate.
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
Meditations
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations* will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Why is it not enough to “eat and drink in Jesus’ company”? Ronald Rolheiser, quoting pastor James Forbes, said: ”nobody gets into heaven without a letter of reference from the poor”. What does my resume look like in reference to my attention to or the help I have rendered to the poor, the sick, to migrants, to those suffering from the effects of war and famine? Father George Bobowski prints the following lines on the envelopes that he distributes for fundraising for education of seminarians in Russia: “You cannot buy Heaven with what you have. You can buy Heaven with what you give”. What do I give, and to whom?
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
The way to eternal happiness, the way to Kingdom Jesus has envisioned, is through a narrow gate. It is not an impossibly small entry, but it is difficult. If you have ever loaded yourself up with as much carry-on luggage as they will let you take on the plane, and then tried to squeeze yourself, your pillow, blanket, rolling bag and a huge carry-on down the narrow aisle, bumping elbows and murmuring “sorry” then finding out the overhead by your seat is full, you know what impedes our entrance through a narrow gate. It is the baggage we carry. That baggage could be money, position, complacency, success, power, comfort, etc. What am I carrying that makes me too wide to fit through that narrow door? Going through that narrow door seems to require both commitment and discipline, not just showing up and demanding to be let in. What must I commit to in order to enter the kingdom, and what discipline do I need to impose on my own behavior? What, as the rich young man asked Jesus, must I do to earn eternal life?
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
The Irish Jesuits, in Sacred Space, have a lovely meditation for this gospel passage:
I spend some time imagining the scene, with myself as the one who asks the question of Jesus. What is Jesus like as he speaks the reply to me? How do his words sound to me? Surprising? Threatening? Liberating? Jesus does not give a direct answer to the question: Will only a few be saved? St Paul insisted: God wants all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. But there is a challenging image here: a narrow door, like a turnstile in a stadium. We cannot take salvation for granted. I need to keep my eye on that turnstile, keep pushing towards it. Salvation is a gift from God and not the right of any particular group. The door may be narrow but the crowd in God’s kingdom will be great. The entrance-key to God’s space and kingdom is to live in the spirit of the gospel and in the forgiveness of God for ways in which we have not lived in his way. In prayer we can offer ourselves to God, and to give to him the best desires and deeds of our lives, leaving judgement to him.
Literary Reflection:
Mary Oliver looks at living in the Kingdom as bringing awareness and gratitude to her everyday life, not by being famous or wealthy, or even overly pious:
“Messenger”
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
Literary Reflection:
If you have time. Read the short story “Revelation” by Flannery O’Connor, about the delivery and effect of a revelation to a sinfully proud, self-righteous, middle-aged, middle-class rural white Southern woman that her confidence in her own Christian salvation might be in error. It is just great!
Closing Prayer
Lord, you are not saying that many will be lost in the end. But you are warning us to deepen our relationship with you and to accept others. Let me play my small but essential part to ensure that all of us may be gathered safely into your kingdom.
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 17, 2025
A warning that the life of a Christian will not necessarily be peaceful or tranquil
Gospel: Luke 12: 49–53
I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!
A warning that the life of a Christian will not necessarily be peaceful or tranquil
Luke 12: 49–53
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Lord, you told anyone who would listen that you were distressed—or stressed—about the eventual outcome of your commission from the Father. Help me in my times of personal stress, over decisions that must be made, over divisions in my family or community, over possible pain and loss. Help me to be strong and courageous, as you were, but at the same time, understanding of those who do not share my convictions.
Companions for the Journey
From Living Space 2025, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
Commentary on Luke 12:49-53
We have some passionate and disturbing words from Jesus today.
First, he expresses his deep desire to cast fire on the earth. In the imagery of the Old Testament, fire is a symbol of God’s powerful presence. We remember Moses at the burning bush, the pillar of fire that accompanied the Israelites by night as they wandered through the desert to the promised land, as well as the tongues of fire that hovered over the disciples at Pentecost.It is this Pentecostal fire that burns men’s hearts and draws them to change the direction of their lives. For Jesus’ wish to be fulfilled, we have to play our part in helping to spread some of that fire of God’s love everywhere.
Second, Jesus expresses a longing for his ‘baptism’ to be accomplished. Baptism here refers to his immersion in the terrible suffering and death by which we will be liberated. In fact, the ritual of baptism, where the person to be baptised was immersed in the baptismal pool, was seen as a parallel to Jesus’ going down into death and emerging to the new life of the resurrection. It is about this that Paul speaks.
Third, Jesus says he has come not to bring peace, but division on the earth. At first sight, this is a hard saying and it does not make any sense. Is Jesus not the Prince of Peace? Did Jesus not say at the Last Supper that he was giving his peace to his disciples, a peace that the world could not give and that no one could take away? Did he not say: Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matt 11:28)
Was not the final greeting of the Risen Christ to his disciples in the upper room: Peace be with you. (John 20:21)
Yes, but he also warned his disciples that, after he was gone, they could expect a rough ride. They would be hauled before rulers and governors; they would be beaten and jailed and put to death. People would think they were doing well in ridding the world of them. In that sense, Jesus was certainly not going to bring peace. And, by the time this Gospel was written, Jesus’ prophecy had been well borne out—and there was a lot more to come.
The break-up of families, father against mother, parents against children, in-laws against in-laws, was unfortunately only too common as one or more members in a family decided to follow Christ and be baptised. These must have been very painful experiences which no one wanted. Anyone who has studied the history of the Church, all the way back to its beginning and in many places throughout the world, knows how many families were torn apart by their accepting Christianity. In the Gospel, we see it in the story of the blind man who attached himself to Jesus and whose parents, terrified of the authorities, wanted to have nothing to do with it. It is surely an image which was quite familiar to converts in the early, not to mention the later, Church.
Jesus had warned that those who wanted to follow him had to be ready, if necessary, to leave home and family and enter into a new family of brothers and sisters. To follow the way of truth and love, of freedom and justice is always going to arouse the hostility of those who feel threatened by goodness.
But is it right to break up one’s family? We might counter by asking which is the more loving thing to do: to be true to one’s convictions and one’s integrity, or to compromise them for the sake of a merely external peace?
The one who leaves a family for the sake of Christ and the Gospel shows a greater love for one’s family and will never cease to love them, no matter how viciously they may react to the choice the Christian has felt it necessary to make. In the long run, truth and love will prevail—they must.
Finally, hostility, division and persecution, provided the Christian is not directly responsible, does not take away the peace that Jesus spoke about. On the contrary, it is only by being true to one’s convictions and one’s integrity, whatever the price that has to be paid, that peace can be experienced.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- At the end of this gospel reading we all respond “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.” Do we feel like praising God at the end of this reading?
- What was my first reaction to Jesus saying that he has come to set the world on fire?
What could that possibly mean? - Does it bother me that Jesus says he has come not to bring peace, but division?
How does that statement square with “Love those who hate you” from chapter 6 of this gospel? - What does this passage have to say about peace at any price?
Am I someone who values peace, even when it comes with a price?
What price will I NOT pay for the sake of peace? - Do I feel like I am living in a Luke moment in our political and cultural divisions?
- Are there divisions in my family about some teachings of the Church, or the church leadership at any level?
- Are there divisions in my family over politics?
How do we handle dueling convictions at family gatherings? - Am I estranged from anyone in my family because of religious, political, career or lifestyle choices?
- Is there competition in my family or among my friends, colleague?
From First Impressions, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Enter today’s firebrand Jesus, who attacks such superficial security, who calls us to God’s peaceable dominion. Here a new set of values governs the community of believers, where the citizens do not purchase their worth and esteem before God, but are given them as gift.
Jesus will continue to preach and live the peace given only to those who love and strive to live in a community of concern for their sisters and brothers; who work to tear down walls of division created by a near-sighted world.
How comfortable is our American ethos of rugged individualism with this Jesus?
How comfortable am I with this Jesus? - Is the energy for goodness and the zeal for reform of our lives, apparent in the words of Jesus, evident in my church today?
Is this energy for goodness and zeal for reform of my life evident in me today? - Have I ever had to make difficult ethical or religious choices?
Did a specific ethical or religious choice I made cost me family or friends?
Was that cost hard to bear?
Did I see the hand of Jesus on my back, comforting and sustaining me?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
From Dom Cingoranelli, a Benedictine Oblate:
Living in a Luke 12:53 moment? I use that term to refer broadly to our current cultural milieu. We live in a time when we find serious division, even within families, over many current issues. In the Gospel, Jesus refers to differences between those who follow Him, and those who do not. Of course, differences within families and other groups have existed since Jesus walked the earth. And now we live in a time characterized by extreme division on so many levels. This issues can be over religious differences, political differences, personal choices, and cultural divides. It doesn’t matter where you stand on any of the issues I’ve mentioned. Just consider yourselves blessed if your family remains unified, even with differences of opinion among the family members on these issues. More and more families, though, are finding fissures in the foundation of the family unit. If you are one of them, you already may have tried resolving differences, albeit with less than outstanding success. What to do, then? For one thing, monitor your own behaviors to avoid creating a wider crevasse. Be charitable in your responses, be open to discussion. And pray. In any event, never give up. With God all things are possible.
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style: Imagination:
I recall the famous story of Mary and Martha when Jesus visited them in their home. One sister sat at the feet of Jesus and welcomed him through her undivided attention. Another sister welcomed Jesus through her hospitality, which meant she missed a lot of what Jesus was saying. Now imagine that Jesus has gone, and the two of them face each other, having publicly displayed their different priorities and approaches. Play over in your mind that probably slightly acrimonious discussion about what each should have done or said. I put myself in Martha’s situation. Have I ever felt that a parent or sibling was not contributing his/her share? Then I put myself in Mary’s shoes. Was priority ever something that was not approved of by some friends or family? Which sister do I most identify with?
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
Jesus can bring division among people--those with him and against him. He can also bring divisions inside each of us. Prayer is a time to sift with him the different desires and actions of our lives. In prayer we ask the grace to know him more, love him more, and serve him more faithfully in our lives.
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
This gospel of Luke is often hailed as a gospel of mercy and love. Consider Chapter 6:27 passim:
Love your enemies’ do good to those who hurt you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly… If you love those who love you, what credit can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit can you expect? For even sinners do that much….. Be compassionate as your father is compassionate. Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Now consider today’s passage: 12:49 passim
I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! Do you suppose I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; father opposed to son, son to father, mother to daughter, daughter to mother, mother-in-law to daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law to mother-in-law.
Does this passage of threats belie that description of this gospel as one of love and mercy? Why does Jesus often say “Peace be with you”? How do you reconcile the two points of view? Should we consider the situation of Luke’s audience of 75 CE as possibly different from the situation Jesus’s actual followers were in in 30 CE?
Closing Prayer
“A Story that will save us”
Tell us a story that will save us (and that will have been enough) all the great songs have been prayed save only one Tell us a story that will save us Go down Lord, & bring us home May our promises free us not chain us May what we desire fill us not entrap us May those persons we love finish us not bind us Go down Lord, & bring us home You are our history, Lord We neither begin nor end outside you May you be for us not weapon, not answer, but cause of peace May our questions show us not division but the smallness of human answers. Go down, Lord & bring us home May our words create Not destroy May our hands nurture Not break May our dreams lead and encourage us Not trap us in despair Go down, Lord & bring us home We are anxious about many things We are lost in many ways Go down, Lord & bring us home.
—Rev. Ed Ingebretzen, S.J.