Tuesday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
A Missionary Community
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
If God lives in the community of his faithful, this community is by itself missionary, for it reveals the face of God; by its witnessing, it attracts others.
The prophet Elijah did not find God in the storm wind or the earthquake or the fire, but in the gentle breeze. The “sons of thunder,” James and John, wanted fire to come down on the Samaritan village that did not receive Jesus, but Jesus reprimanded them. Violence is not God’s way.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
the early Christian community
was praised by Jews and pagans alike
and led many to the faith by their example.
Like them, may we be united heart and soul,
as a community of faith, prayer, service,
and of sharing with one another.
May people discover
that the Spirit of Jesus Christ is alive in us,
so that they may praise your name,
now and for ever.
First Reading
The Lord, the God of hosts, speaks:
“Peoples will come from other nations,
Including those from major cities.
The inhabitants of one town
will talk with those of another and say:
‘Come, let us go and seek
the favor of the Lord, and I, too,
will seek the Lord.’
Many great peoples
and powerful nations
will come seeking the Lord,
God of hosts,
in Jerusalem and will pray to him.”
The Lord, the God of hosts,
assures you:
“In those days, ten men
from different languages
spoken in various lands
will grab of a Jew
by the hem of his garment and say:
‘We, too, want to go with you,
for we have heard
that God is with you.’”
Responsorial Psalm
His foundation upon the holy mountains
the LORD loves:
The gates of Zion,
more than any dwelling of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
R. God is with us.
I tell of Egypt and Babylon
among those that know the LORD;
Of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia:
"This man was born there."
And of Zion they shall say:
"One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD."
R. God is with us.
They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
"This man was born there."
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
"My home is within you."
R. God is with us.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
and they went on to another village.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That those who search and grope for faith may encounter the Lord Jesus in the witness of faith and love of our communities, we pray:
– That the universal Church, the local churches and missionary societies may proclaim Christ to the world not by power and prestige but by humble service, we pray:
– That each of the young churches may be deeply rooted in its own people as a community of faith and love that enriches the whole Church, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Bread and wine are here,
gifts from your hands
to bring us your greater gift, your own Son.
God, may peoples and nations
come and see that through him
you are alive in your community.
And may they want to go your way with us
and find favor with you,
our Lord and God for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you ask much of us, your people,
for it is not easy for us
to reveal your face to people.
May we never be screens that hide you
but your transparent images,
patterned after your Son, Jesus Christ,
and growing day after day
in the likeness of him,
who is our Lord, for ever and ever.
Blessing
After the time of the apostles and the persecutions, the Church spread mostly because of the inspiring life of the Christian community. It attracted people, for they saw God alive in the Church. May you be a Church that attracts people to God, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTION
30 September 2025
Today’s Gospel gives us two powerful lessons in tolerance. First, the disciples wanted to silence someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name because he was “not one of them.” But Jesus would not allow it. God’s work is not limited to one circle, one group, or one method. Wherever goodness is done in His name, His Spirit is at work.
Second, when a Samaritan village refused hospitality, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven. Once again, Jesus rebuked them. He would not allow zeal for His mission to become violence against others. Instead, He chose the harder path of patience, respect, and love, even in rejection.
True tolerance is not indifference but love. It is seeing in others—even those who disagree with us—not enemies to destroy, but brothers and sisters to win over with patience and kindness. This is the way of Christ.
On this memorial of St. Jerome, we see how this Gospel speaks to us. Jerome was fiery by temperament, often sharp in debate, and sometimes intolerant in words. Yet, he spent his life in the tireless service of God’s Word, translating the Scriptures into Latin so that countless generations could draw close to Christ.
His sharpness was ultimately rooted in love for truth and zeal for souls. He teaches us that true tolerance is not indifference but love—love that seeks truth, love that corrects error with charity, and love that welcomes every sincere effort to serve God.
Like Jerome, we are called to be passionate about the Gospel, but always with the heart of Christ: firm in truth, yet patient and merciful with others.
3 October 2023 – Tuesday
Todos, todos, todos (Spanish) “For everyone, everyone, everyone”
On World Youth Day last August, Pope Francis emphasized to the young people in Portugal that the Church is for all people, no matter who they are. He made them repeat the phrase together "Todos todos todos." No one is excluded.
One of the joys of the righteous Jews was that Yahweh was a God recognized by many nations. The concept of Yahweh began as a "tribal god" and gradually evolved into a God of all nations throughout history. We still refer to God as "our God"; God hasn't changed and we just enlarged the meaning of the "our" so that it no longer referred to a concrete family or clan, a nation or a people, but embraced all peoples and nations under the heavens.
Isn’t this the essence of our faith? As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, not just my messiah, nor the messiah for the Church, but he is the Messiah for all nations; and that is why we, each of us, have been sent to bring this Good News to all nations. In this mission, Jesus is making a proclamation, an announcement, which can be accepted or rejected, just as he did on the way to Jerusalem today, when he announced his mission.
This morning's Gospel offers us two attitudes that we ought to avoid in our Christian life: lacking empathy to welcome those who come into our lives... especially those who are different from us, whom we call "the others" so easily; as a result, we might miss the Christ passing by. The second is the use of our power, especially the gifts that have been given to us by God, in order to eliminate those who are opposed to the proclamation of the Gospel. There is a possibility that James and John were joking, but Jesus' answer was no laughing matter: “You do not know what spirit you are.”
Let us truly understand, O Lord, that you came not to destroy souls but to save them.