Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Free And Vigilant
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Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
Persons who have been set free from the slavery of sin, says Paul, should live in the grace of God as free persons. They can only serve what is right and good. They should live as free and responsible Christians.
In the Gospel, Luke speaks of the vigilance of Christians and their leaders. They are responsible for the grace and the talents God has given them. And, says Jesus, the more has been given to us, the more is expected of us, the more we have to be responsible for those entrusted to us.
Opening Prayer
Our God and Father,
in the generosity of your creative imagination
you distribute among people
a variety of gifts and talents
of mind and heart and grace.
Convince us, Lord, that what we have received,
we have received for others,
that if we have been given more,
we are not greater or better,
only responsible for more.
Help us to use what we are and have
in the service of others.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Partially based on a text by Helder Camara)
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a) Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Had not the LORD been with us,
let Israel say, had not the LORD been with us–
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive;
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
We were rescued like a bird
from the fowlers' snare;
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Pay attention to this: If the homeowner had known when the thief would arrive, he wouldn’t have let his house be broken into.
You also need to be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you don’t expect.
Peter asked:
“Lord, did you tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied:
“Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward, whom the master puts in charge of his other servants to give them wheat at the right time.
Blessed is that servant if his master, upon returning, finds him doing his job.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions.
But it may be that the steward thinks, ‘My Lord delays in coming,’ and he begins to abuse the male servants and the servant girls, eating, drinking, and getting drunk.
Then the master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he doesn’t know. He will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.
The servant who knew his master’s will but did not prepare or do what his master wanted will be severely punished;
however, the one who unintentionally does what deserves punishment will receive fewer blows. Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be demanded of the one who has been entrusted with more.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That the Church may bring the light of faith where there is darkness and indifference, hope where there is fatalism and despair, and love where there is hatred and strife, we pray:
– That those who are discouraged by trials and by their troubles and fears may keep believing and hoping in a God who brings everything to a good end, we pray:
– That all of us may grow in the certainty that our commitment to justice and love and our dedicated service in life are needed to help God’s promises come true, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
let these signs of bread and wine
express that we are willing
to serve you and people
in responsible freedom.
Let your Son share with us
his strength and loyalty,
to make us wise and faithful stewards
of the message of justice and love
entrusted to us by Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
to let us know that you expect of us
more than we are capable of,
you have given us again
the word and body of your Son.
Help us to live according to the gospel
as people set free by Jesus
and responsible with him
for the progress in this world
of integrity and love.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required,” says Jesus. We have received much from God, our faith, our capacity to love, pardon of our sins. Let us thank the Lord and ask for the blessing of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
22 October 2025
John Paul II
Luke 12:39-48
Today’s Gospel presents us with the parable of the wise and unwise stewards. A steward, if he was faithful, brought order and life. If unfaithful, he abused his power and forgot that the master would surely return.
The unfaithful steward made two serious mistakes. First, he believed he could do whatever he pleased because the master was away. However, in truth, God is never absent. There is no part of our lives—whether public or private—where He is not present.
Second, he thought he had plenty of time to make amends, despite Jesus warning us to be ready because the Son of Man will come unexpectedly. The illusion of ‘tomorrow’—to forgive, pray, or change—may never come.
Here, three lessons shine through:
First, value time. Time is one of the greatest treasures given to us, and yet it slips through our hands so easily. We try to disguise its passing, but time is what allows us to learn, grow, and prepare. Don’t waste it. Use it well—for love, for service, for God.
Second, live each day as a gift. Death is certain, but the hour is unknown. So live today as if it were your first and your last—free from bitterness, free from complaint.
Third, be responsible. Life is not ours to own; we are stewards, administrators of what God has placed in our hands. Our talents, our relationships, our faith—they are entrusted to us. Let us not waste them on trivial things that bear no fruit, but invest them in what gives life and hope to others.
We are always in His presence
In today’s passage of the Gospel, Jesus speaks about vigilance and responsibility, calling us to live in constant readiness for the Master’s return. He reminds us that we are stewards of God’s gifts and that we must act with integrity, whether or not we feel His immediate presence. This Gospel challenges the common habit of dividing life into compartments—where some moments feel “sacred” and others “secular.” True discipleship, however, recognises that God is present in every moment of our lives. There is no time when the Master is away, and we always live in the sight of God.
The unfaithful servant represents the danger of complacency. He acknowledges the Master’s return but delays his readiness, assuming there is more time. This reflects our tendency to postpone spiritual growth or ignore our responsibilities, thinking we can focus on God later. Jesus warns that such an attitude is dangerous—life is fragile, and we do not know when we will be called to account.
Moreover, the unfaithful servant follows his own will, neglecting the people entrusted to him. This highlights the importance of our mission to serve others, especially those in need. Faithful stewardship requires us to prioritise God’s will over our own desires, recognising that we are accountable for how we treat those in our care.
In the end, the Gospel reminds us that there will be judgment. This is not to instil fear but to invite us into a life of active faith, where every action is lived in response to God’s love. Vigilance, then, is about living with integrity and being faithful to God’s call, not out of fear of punishment but out of love and awareness that we are always in His presence.