Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
What Is Inside You
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
What really matters for us, what makes us what we should be, is faith. “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” Faith will make us live. But for Paul too faith is not just a belief in tenets. Faith expresses itself in deeds.
In today’s gospel Jesus reacts against pious Jews who stress the observance of the externals – laws, rules, customs – without inspiration and motivation from inside. Most probably, the Pharisees were sincere in practising these outward regulations, but they easily gave those practising them the conviction of saving themselves through them. In fact, in today’s world too externals count heavily. People buy things for their wrappings. Appearances are often all that matters… It is not the shining cup that matters but the contents. Indeed, the content must be of the highest quality.
Opening Prayer
Lord, our God,
Jesus touched the dead and unclean lepers
to raise them to life and to heal them.
Let us not be afraid
of dirtying our hands to help people
but of soiling our tongues to tell lies
and to besmear the good name
of our brothers and sisters,
to quarrel with them and to hurt them.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to join him for a meal. So he went and sat at the table.
The Pharisee then wondered why Jesus did not first wash his hands before dinner.
But the Lord said to him:
“So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil.
Fools! He who made the outside also made the inside.
But according to you, by the mere giving of alms, everything is made clean.
Prayers of the Faithful
That the People of God, its leaders and members, may never put the law above people but always practice the great commandment of loving God in one another, we pray:
That priests and religious make the poverty and love of Christ visible in them, so that their teaching may be credible, we pray:
That our communities may be strong and faithful witnesses in our world for the truth, honesty and authenticity, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
you look into our hearts
and you invite us to come to the table of Jesus
and to worship you with him
in spirit and in truth.
Let there be no pretence in us,
no mere outward display,
no attempt to impress people
as to how good and religious we are.
Make us honest with you and ourselves
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
this eucharist has been for us
an occasion of reflection
on the way we live our faith.
Let the word of Jesus echo in us
that we do not save ourselves
by our own practices,
but that we owe everything to you.
Accept our thanks and love
that all we are and have
we have received from you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
What is inside us? God knows, and I hope each of us knows too. May the Lord love what he sees, and may almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
14 October 2025
Luke 11:37-41
Compassion is the best soap for the soul
In today’s Gospel, Jesus dines at the home of a Pharisee. His host is shocked that Jesus does not wash His hands according to the ceremonial law. For the Pharisees, every tiny detail of washing was prescribed—how much water, how it should flow, even the sequence of movements. To neglect any part was considered sinful. But Jesus points out the deeper truth: what matters is not the washing of hands, but the cleansing of the heart.
This moment invites us to reflect on three things.
First, hospitality. To invite someone to your table is to invite them into your life. Jesus accepted such invitations readily, and He was not afraid to be Himself—authentic, natural, transparent. We, too, are called to let others know us as we really are, without hiding behind masks or fear of judgment. True friendship and Christian community grow only when we share our lives honestly.
Second, inner cleanliness. Jesus reminds us that holiness is not about outward appearances, but about removing the stains of resentment, bitterness, or selfishness from our hearts. A person clean within is recognizable: gentle in speech, faithful in prayer, uninterested in power or gossip.
Third, real cleansing. Purity of heart is not achieved by rituals alone but by love in action. When we serve others, especially the poor, our hearts are purified. Spending time with the elderly, visiting the sick, or comforting those in pain not only brings them hope, it transforms us. Compassion is the best soap for the soul.
Let us remember: God does not look at our hands to see if they are ritually washed, but at our hearts to see if they are filled with mercy. To be clean before God is to love.
Mercy, not Sacrifice
When St. Luke wrote the Gospel, his concerns were to introduce Jesus, the Son of God, who became a human being. His audience was Gentiles who had no clue of the Jewish customs and traditions. Therefore, the ritual washings and other purification rites of the Jews would mean nothing to them. Yet, Luke used this story to teach his community not to judge others.
This is another dinner scene. Jesus is invited to dinner by a Pharisee. He goes in without following the custom of ritual washing. Was it because Jesus did not care for the traditions which his host followed meticulously? How come he goes on the offensive towards the Pharisees after being invited for a dinner? Jesus uses the occasion to tell the Pharisees that the practice of external rituals does not make anyone holier than the rest.
Certainly, St. Luke is giving a catechesis here. He draws the attention of his readers on the false religion. Through narrating the incident, he teaches his readers not to judge a person’s virtues by his performance or non-performance of an external ritual. Such pharisaic attitudes are visible in today’s Church too. Recently, we have witnessed serious divisions in the Church due to the liturgical rubrics and rituals. Bishops, priests and faithful are divided over how to celebrate the Mass. Ironically, we are fighting over the rituals used in the Eucharist - the ultimate expression of Jesus’ love for humanity!
The last verse of today’s Gospel suggests us what should be our priority. Jesus suggests us that we give alms to the poor. An act of love and compassion to the needy is more pleasing to God than all the observations of rituals and traditions. Our participation in Sunday Mass, Bible studies, and retreats are all meaningful only when these religious practices help us to be better people, better father, mothers, sisters, brothers or better wives or husbands who brings the love and mercy of God to the people who are around us in our families, churches and society.
It is so easy to judge people, including our fellow Catholics, by their observance or non-observance of certain customs. Most of the passages in the Gospel attacking Pharisees are really directed against us – the modern-day Pharisees
Elsewhere, Jesus has told us not to judge because it is very difficult for us to know what is going on in the life of the other. Let us not forget the Word of God: “What I want is mercy and not sacrifice.”
Tidy up your inner self prior to applying any make-up!”
The Gospel presents another dinner scene in which a Pharisee invites Jesus to a banquet but he becomes critical when Jesus does not follow the ritual washing before the meal. The setting helps us understand that Luke was using this dinner scene for catechesis for his community. It discusses Jesus's instructions to the Pharisees, which were intended to address the pharisaic attitude in the early Christian community, emphasising that practising external rituals does not make anyone holier than others.
Our acts of love and compassion toward those in need are more significant to God than religious rituals and traditions. Popular piety and spiritual practices like Sunday Mass, Bible studies, and retreats are meaningful only when they contribute to becoming better individuals who spread God's love and mercy to others in their families, churches, and society. Let us always remember Jesus' words: “What I want is mercy and not sacrifice.”