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The Word today, 23C

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September 08 - September 13, 2025


Birthday of the BVM


Micah 5:1-4 This is a delightful reading for the feast and invites meditation on all God has done for us in Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Blessed Virgin.


Or: Romans 8:28-30 This part of the great chapter 8 of Romans underlines God’s providential grace to all. When it says the Son is the eldest of many brothers and sisters, this point to the inclusion of the Gentiles.


Matthew 1:1-16,18-23 Perhaps not many will choose the long form of this reading (the short version even drops v. 17!). There are benefits, however. From the fractured stories of generations comes Jesus, who is able to help us precisely because he is one of us.


St Ciaran, abbot


Colossians 2:6-15 The background to the reading must be (1) some kind of philosophy (probably some kind of Gnoticism) and (2) a group imposing traditional Jewish practices. The writer is not lacking in directness!


Luke 6:12-19 Our reading is a very good illustration of the importance of prayer in Luke.


St Peter Claver


Colossians 3:1-11 Being a believer implies choices, sometimes very stark ones. This reading contrasts our “old” life before and our “new” life in Christ.


Luke 6:27-38 We are more accustomed to hearing the Beatitudes (the “be-attitudes”?) in Matthew’s formulation. However, the three short beatitudes here (the fourth is an expansion) with their matching three “woes” have even more power.



Colossians 3:12-17 Today we hear a thrilling reading. How are we to live as Christians? How are we to grow as Christians? This short reading may give us new energy.


Luke 6:27-38 Here we touch the core teaching of Jesus as he invites us to love our enemies. The special word of love in the New Testament—agapē—means attending to the well-being of the other without any expected of return or reward. Such simplicity, such goodness of heart is both a gift (a grace) and the fruit of conversion of life.


The Most Holy Name of Mary; St Ailbe, bishop


1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14 Starting today and for all of next week, we read from 1 Timothy. This letter is often—not always—regarded as Deutero-pauline, that is, within the Pauline tradition, not by the apostle himself, reflecting later conditions and questions. Today, we hear a late reflection on that great event, the conversion of St Paul. As you will hear, the language is not really that of the apostle himself.


Luke 6:39-42 Any DIY carpenters listening will see the point—as did Jesus himself, the carpenter. The exaggeration of plank (!) is both humorous and in deadly earnest.


St John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor


1 Timothy 1:15-17 Even if only in the names of Paul, this reading uses Paul’s experience to make plain again the offer of salvation to all without distinction. The whole purpose of Jesus was not to condemn but rather to save.


Luke 6:43-49 Today, any farmers or gardeners will get the point without difficulty. The second illustration from building calls for a little background. Originally, it referred to a wadi, a dry river bed, in the Middle East. Such river beds are subject to flash floods which sweep everything before them. To build on rock means safely, away from the potential flood. To build on soil means to build in the most risky, not to say foolish, location. Luke has adjusted the story to other buildings conditions, bringing things up to date.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025bz, September 7). Twenty-third Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090725.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings


 
 
 

The Word today, 22C


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September 01 - September 06, 2025



1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 St Paul is answering a question of the Thessalonians: when our Lord comes again will those already dead be at a disadvantage? The response uses two kinds of language: apocalyptic and relational. It is likely that the second, relational language will speak more directly to us today.


Luke 4:16-30 Luke expands a simple, historical incident into a great tableau, thus furnishing a key to the whole Gospel, from the proclamation to Jesus through the inclusion outsiders to his death and resurrection in the Holy City.



1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11 The Thessalonians also had a second question: when will the end be? Paul is cautious and uses a series of metaphors: (i) a thief in the night: the second coming is unpredictable; (ii) giving birth: the Lord’s coming is inevitable; (iii) helmet and breastplate: how will we prepare. (This verse is omitted in the lectionary should be restored—this is always allowed.)


Luke 4:31-37 Following yesterday’s tableau, Luke shows us Jesus a prophet, powerful in word and deed.


St Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome, doctor


Colossians 1:1-8 In this opening thanksgiving, we hear something of the life of the church in Colossae, in modern-day Turkey. We learn that Paul was not the teacher of the Colossians, but a certain Epaphras.


Luke 4:38-44 In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is help up mainly as a prophet. But his original in God is not forgotten. It falls to the demons— whose know their catechism—to remind us of the deep identity of Jesus.


St Mac Nissi, bishop


Colossians 1:9-14 How will the Colossians feel as they hear this passage? It is always a pleasure to know that someone is praying for you.


Luke 5:1-11 The call stories in Mark and Matthew are stripped of all human interest and even psychological probability, leaving the sovereign call of Jesus to stand out. However, in this great story, Luke furnishes us with a reason for the “yes” of Peter and the others. Luke also does not want us to leave the miracle in the past; instead he wants to us ask, what experience of Jesus drew me in the first place and what experience of Jesus today keeps me “in” right now?


St Teresa of Calcutta


Colossians 1:15-20 Today we hear the most famous passage in the letter to the Colossians. It is just amazing that such profound claims are made about a Galilean peasant preacher, executed by the Romans as a criminal, only a short time before.


Luke 5:33-39 The Jesus revolution was also a revolution of received ideas and practices. The great “novelty” of the Gospel—God’s untrammelled compassion and eager love—calls for novelty in how we “practice” the faith, even today. Yes, the old is good, but even more so is the new.



Colossians 1:21-23 In this reading, “foreigners and enemies” means really non-Jews or Gentiles. Now that all the Gentiles—including us today—have been included in salvation, a certain way of life is expected of us.


Luke 6:1-5 We could be bold here and ask what were the Pharisees themselves doing in a cornfield anyway on the Sabbath day? That would be to miss the point: Jesus has authority, even over the Sabbath—a mighty claim, given that the Sabbath was traced to creation itself and to the Ten Commandments.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025bx, August 31). Twenty-second Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/083125.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings


 
 
 

The Word today, 21C

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August 25 - August 30, 2025


St Louis; St Joseph of Calasanz, priest


For the next week and half or so, we hear from 1 Thessalonians, the first letter of Paul to come down to us. Evidently Paul had evangelised city of Thessalonica about the year AD 49. He then moved on through Athens to Corinth. In the meantime, the new believers in Thessalonica experienced some kind of oppression or harassment. They contacted Paul and he sent Timothy. The letter is in response to Timothy’s report.


1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8-10 We begin reading today from the earliest surviving Christian document, Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. Paul had founded this community in Greece and then had to move on. Subsequently, they experienced considerable hardship on account of being believers. Paul writes to reassure them and to answer some questions they sent him.


Matthew 23:13-22 The Jesus of this story is stern, but be careful not to leave it in the past. His teaching is for us today as well.



1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 In our first reading today, Paul summarises his great love for the Christians in Thessalonica. It is a striking expression of real emotional dependence— something we might be uncomfortable with today. He brings this section to a conclusion with a prayer that God might allow him to visit them.


Matthew 23:23-26 The temptation is always present to let punctilious observance of the rules takes the place of true religion — “justice, mercy and good faith.” Perhaps it is simply easier?


St Monica, wife and mother


1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 It might seem strange to us, but one of the things the Thessalonians resented about Paul was his refusal to take money from them! In a way, he had insulted them, but he defends his motives with great energy.


Matthew 23:27-32 The attack on “show” religion continues fiercely. It is important to try to hear this both in the present and personally. It is much easer to leave it in the past and think of others. The last line is unexpectedly robust!


St Augustine, bishop and doctor


1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 In our first reading today, Paul summarises his great love for the Christians in Thessalonica. It is a striking expression of real emotional dependence— something we might be uncomfortable with today. He brings this section to a conclusion with a prayer that God might allow him to visit them.


Matthew 24:42-51 We can sleepwalk through life but luckily life itself has a way of keeping us alert and awake.


The beheading of St John the Baptist


1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 Ethical issues are always present. How should the Thessalonians behave, so as to distinguish themselves from the surrounding, much more lax culture? The general advice given then is still valuable today.


Mark 6:17-29 The gospel—special for the feast—tells the story of the death of John the Baptist. It is a grisly end for a great prophet, facing death at the whim of his enemy.


St Fiacre, monk


1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 In this short reading Paul affirms the Thessalonians before he exhorts them to even better behaviour. The topic— brotherly love—is never, ever out of date.


Matthew 25:14-30 Today’s parable is undoubtedly severe, especially towards the end. The overall message, however, stands: we have all receive graces and gifts—but how do we use them?


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025bv, August 24). Twenty-first Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082425.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings


 
 
 
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