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SOCL, 29C

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Sunday October 19, 2025


See


There can be no “part-time” discipleship. Likewise, there can be no parttime prayer. The deep reason behind this is that God loves my whole person and desires all that I am. Constancy in discipleship demands constancy in prayer; and constancy in prayer builds discipleship. In other words, they can be no separation of life and prayer— the goal is the same, the integration of my whole self into the Christian project. However, the relationship is primary. It is not that practical action is more important and prayer helps, but that prayer is more important and how I live is the test of my prayer.


Listen



Reflect


(Luke 18:1-8)


The purpose of prayer is not to change God’s mind, but to change ourselves and we can be slow to move. When have you found that persistence in prayer strengthened your faith in the presence of God with you in that struggle?


The context of the story may be a concern about the delay in the final coming of the Lord. Have there been times when your persistence in prayer, or action, was eventually rewarded after a period when you had doubts about the outcome? What were the fruits of your persistent prayer?


Behind the story lies the final question of Jesus: Who does have faith? Who have been models of faith and trust in God for you? How has that trust been shown in their lives? How is it shown in yours?


Pray


Lord, tireless guardian of your people, always ready to hear the cries of your chosen ones, teach us to rely, day and night, on your care. Support our prayer lest we grow weary. Impel us to seek your enduring justice and your ever-present help. Amen.

 
 
 

The Word today, 29C

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October 20 - October 25, 2025



Romans 4:20-25 What do we mean by the word faith? Often we mean believing “things.” Paul has a different way of looking at it.


Luke 12:13-21 A simple and practical question elicits an unexpected response from Jesus. As usual, he goes to the heart of the matter and challenges us all to think again about our real priorities.



Romans 5:12, 15, 17-21 In trying to reconcile Gentiles and Jews in the Roman churches, Paul wants to show that every human being, no matter what background etc., stands in need of God’s grace in Christ. Symbolically, Adam’s story is our story.


Luke 12:36-38 Parables of watchfulness are not uncommon but this one contains a major role reversal: the master will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on his own slaves. The story of the washing of the feet in John’s Gospel comes to mind as does another sentence from Jesus: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).


St John Paul II, bishop of Rome


Romans 6:12-18 As always, Paul’s message is one of freedom. Being set free in Christ, he insists that we continue to be free from whatever keeps us from God.


Luke 12:39-48 The gentle Luke is not always as gentle as we fondly imagine. Today’s reading moves smoothly from night-time burglary to keeping watch. The violent and brutal imagery (cut off, strokes of the lash) is indeed arresting: Luke wants to wake up us to action.


St John of Capistrano, priest


Romans 6:19-23 Paul often bring up the contrast between how we used to be and how we are now in Christ. What is the point of persistence? God’s gift of eternal life in Christ.


Luke 12:49-53 Fire is a cultural image for judgement. By contrast, baptism can be a metaphor for destiny only in light of Christian tradition. With these contrasting images of judgement and death, Jesus links his own fate with his mission from God. The second paragraph reflects what happened to people who made (and make) a radical choice for Jesus. The social and familial cost was and still can be considerable.


St Anthony Mary Claret, bishop


Romans 7:18-25 We know a lot about Paul because he himself tells us a great deal. In today’s reading, we get really under his skin in some very honest reflections. Our experience is in there somewhere too!


Luke 12:54-59 What has the weather to do with going to court? The two sets of parabolic sayings may seem disparate but in reality are related. The link is time and the good use of time in the now. Interpreting the times is the duty of us all; acting on that interpretation is the call of us all.


St Thaddeus MacCarthy, bishop


Romans 8:1-11 How can we ever come to true inner peace? How can we become our true selves as God intended? Paul describes the path, using a language which is his, but based on an experience which is ours.


Luke 13:1-9 Bad things happen to good people, then and now. Coping with the unpredictable invites repentance, but not in the sense of sorrow for sin. Rather, metanoia is better rendered “conversion”, i.e., a fundamental change of attitude to life, to God and to others, a real turn around. The fig tree is rich in metaphorical resonance from the book of Genesis onwards. In the Gospels, it often bears the message of judgement, as in the cursing of the fig tree. That prophetic action is not recounted in Luke and instead we have a very different story of yet another chance. Luke is telling us to dig around, get manure, create the conditions for bearing fruit…otherwise!


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025cl, October 19). Twenty-ninth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101925.cfm

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


 
 
 

One another, 29C

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October 18, 2025



Friends in Christ, God invites us to hold the needs of our sisters and brothers as dear to us as our own needs. Loving our neighbors as ourselves, we offer our thanksgivings and our petitions on behalf of the church and the world:


For the Church: that we may be persistent in prayer and attentive to God’s invitations to greater discipleship: let us pray to the Lord.


For fidelity: that God will sustain us as we encounter challenges and keep us faithful to the virtues of the Gospel in our decisions and actions: let us pray to the Lord.


For the Synod on the Amazon: that the Spirit will guide their conversations and inspire them with insights that will promote the wellbeing of the people and the growth of their faith: let us pray to the Lord.


For a greater love of the Scriptures: that our hearts may desire to hear and learn God’s Word and be open to the insights it offers: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who have no voice or standing in society: that we may be aware of all who are forgotten by society and raise their needs and aspirations before others: let us pray to the Lord.


For all judges and attorneys: that God will guide their work so that justice may be served and the injured assisted: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who support us in our journey of faith; for family, friends, and fellow believers: that God will renew and strengthen each of us so that the work of God may be more evident in the world: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who proclaim the Word: that the Spirit of God will guide them in offering convincing and encouraging insights so that all may come to know and love God more deeply: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who are growing weary in seeking justice and for all who are working to assist them: that the Holy Spirit will give them strength and help them to persevere: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who are dedicated to a life of persistent prayer, particularly contemplative religious: that God will strengthen them and renew their ministry through the Holy Spirit: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who are caught in desperate situations, for refugees along the border of the United States, and for those struggling with addictions: that God will hear their cries, bring them to freedom and help them begin a new life: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who feel so crushed by life that they wish to end it: that they may sense the nearness of God's love and find someone with whom to share their pain: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who are recovering from natural disasters: that God will strengthen them, renew their spirits and guide them in restoring their lives: let us pray to the Lord.


For members of Congress: that God will guide their search for the truth and give them wisdom to recognize it: let us pray to the Lord.


For peace: that God will turn the hearts of world leaders from violence and help them to take bold steps to promote peace and provide for the safety of the innocent: let us pray to the Lord.


Hear our prayers, God of power, and through the ministry of your Son free us from the grip of the tomb, that we may desire you as the fullness of life and proclaim your saving deeds to all the world. Amen.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025cl, October 19). Twenty-ninth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101925.cfm

-Cormier, J. (1995). Lord, Hear Our Prayer: Prayer of the Faithful for Sundays, Holy Days, and Ritual Masses.


 
 
 
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