Tuesday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Hospitality
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
In Jonah’s experience, God’s word is very powerful if we bring it to people in the name of God and if they are open to it.
A hospitable family or person makes guests feel at home and gives them the best available. But if we are truly hospitable, we are also listening to the guest and receiving from them, perhaps more than we give, and in a deeper way. We receive the guest as a person. God presents himself in the Bible as a traveler on a journey. He asks for hospitality as a stranger or a poor person. Christ also says that in the homeless we welcome him.
Opening Prayer
Our loving God and Father,
you have invited us to stay with you,
to listen to the message of Jesus your Son
and to accept from him your peace and love.
May we welcome him wholeheartedly
and learn from him to welcome him too
in people who appeal to us
for forgiveness and a bit of warmth,
for patience and hope and joy.
Let them not pass your servants by.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3) If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Let Israel wait for the LORD,
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
As Jesus and his disciples were traveling, he entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
She had a sister named Mary, who sat beside the Lord at his feet, listening to him speak.
Meanwhile, Martha was busy with all the serving, and finally she said:
“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”
But the Lord replied:
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things,
but only one thing is truly needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– That we may recognize the Lord in the features of a stranger and welcome him as we would welcome the Lord himself, we pray:
– That we may welcome the best our brothers and sisters give us, even before we share the best of ourselves with them, we pray:
– That we may be and remain hospitable people, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Father,
may we welcome Jesus your Son
in these offerings of bread and wine,
Open us to his word and his mentality.
Prepare us to welcome him in people
and to encounter him in their person,
even when he comes at another time
and in another way than we expect him.
Enrich us by giving to, and receiving from, one another
your greatest gift to us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have come among us in your Son
to be our guest.
In our everyday life
may we always be open to anyone in need.
Help us to recognize you and welcome you
in everyone who comes to us.
In every human encounter
offer us your grace and love
through Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives with you and stays with us
now and for ever.
Blessing
In this eucharist we have been the Lord’s own guests. He has been very hospitable to us, listening to us and speaking to us his warm words of friendship. He sends us out now to be one another’s guests and hosts. Welcome now the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
7 October 2025
Our Lady of the Rosary
Action anchored in contemplation
Today we celebrate Our Lady of the Rosary, a feast born from the conviction that prayer—especially the simple repetition of the Rosary—has the power to change history and convert hearts. The Rosary is not only about words; it is about entering into the mysteries of Christ with the eyes and heart of Mary, learning to sit at His feet as Mary of Bethany did in today’s Gospel.
The story of Martha and Mary shows us the tension between action and contemplation. Martha busies herself with serving, while Mary chooses to sit quietly and listen. Jesus gently reminds us: “Only one thing is necessary.” Not that action is wrong—God needs Marthas as well as Marys—but that our action must flow from prayer, from a heart anchored in God. Otherwise, even our good intentions can become restless, distracted, or burdensome.
This ties beautifully with the first reading from Jonah. The prophet preached a simple message of repentance, and to his surprise, the whole city of Nineveh turned back to God. Their conversion did not come from Jonah’s eloquence or effort, but from the power of God working in willing hearts. Sometimes, like Martha, we think everything depends on our doing. But the Rosary teaches us the opposite: that salvation flows first from listening, from meditating, from allowing God to work in us.
Our Lady of the Rosary invites us to enter into this balance—like Mary, to sit at Jesus’ feet, and like Jonah, to bear witness to His mercy. The Rosary gives us both: contemplation of Christ’s mysteries and the strength to live them in action.
Today, let us ask Mary to help us listen more deeply, pray more faithfully, and serve more lovingly—so that, in all we do, Christ remains at the centre.
New sending, old convictions
Nineveh was a big old city outside Israel, so old that it existed prior to many ancient empires. Even so, the Lord decides to send Jonah to deliver a message of conversion... and it works. It works for Nineveh, but not for Jonah. God is concerned about the salvation and well-being of all mankind, not just the people of Israel. Yahweh is the God of all nations, not just his beloved people. After realizing their wrongdoings, the people of Nineveh changed their behavior. Is Jonah's life going to be challenged by their conversion? We’ll see tomorrow.
While today's Gospel may seem far from the theme of the first reading, I believe it shares a common theme: How can we please God? Nineveh converted and the Lord was pleased, who also changed his ways and did not carry out what He said he would. How do we truly please the Lord?
Both Martha and Mary were pleasing to the Lord. One did it through catering to his needs, the other through attentive listening to Jesus’ words. Martha's problem may have been a matter of "face", as we say it in Chinese culture. By becoming a good hostess, she wanted to give a good image, and show Jesus how much she appreciated him and his mission by making him feel comfortable and welcomed. This was quite a good thing for her!
Jesus, without diminishing the significance of her good work, teaches her what it means to be a true hostess in God's eyes: to listen, to take to heart, and to put into practice what he says.
Mary's disposition and attitude is valuable and worth recognizing, but it is the one we should not take so lightly as Martha's. Whatever we do, we are doing it to put the Lord's words into action, not for the sake of looking good in front of Him.
How often do I try to portray a positive image before the Lord while forgetting those important factors?