Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
The Signs Of The Times
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. The letter to the Ephesians insists on unity. Everything in our faith is a call for unity in Christ, as there is one Church, one Spirit, and one Father of all.
Gospel. In its introduction, the Vatican II Constitution on the Church in the Modern World says: “The Church must continually examine the signs of the times and interpret them in the light of the gospel. Thus she will be able to answer the questions that people are always asking about the meaning of this life and of the next and about the relation of this life and of the next and about the relation of one to the other, in a way adapted to each question.” By signs of the times we mean currents of thought and attitudes behind events, aspirations, and the like. Take the hippies, the Jesus movement, Pentecostalism, women’s lib, the hunger for liberation, and the rebellion of many young people against consumerism and hypocrisy. Can we discover points of contact and of openness to the values of the gospel?
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
when today’s world hungers
for justice, truth and spiritual values,
perhaps disguised and distorted
in a form hard to recognise,
open our eyes and give us
your Spirit of wisdom and discernment.
May we thus learn to understand this world,
to feel at home in it,
and to discover the stepping-stones
that could lead us all to you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Unity in the Body
Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you to embrace the calling you have received.
Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love.
Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit among you through bonds of peace.
Let there be one body and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God, the Father of all, who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the crowds:
“When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming’; and does.
And when the wind blows from the south, you say, ‘It will be hot’; and so it is.
You superficial people! You understand the signs of the earth and the sky, but you don’t understand the present times.
And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
When you go with your accuser before the court, try to settle the case on the way, so he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hands you over to the jailer, and the jailer throws you into prison.
I tell you; you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.
Prayers of the Faithful
– Lord, may the Church of today speak to the people of today the gospel in the language of today, we pray:
– Lord, let the ministers of the Church be familiar with the needs and aspirations of today’s world and people, we pray:
– Lord, make us transform a world of injustice into a world of integrity, a cold and indifferent world into a warm world of love and mercy, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
these gifts speak of life and care,
of growth and sharing.
Let them also speak to our hearts
of the self-giving love of Jesus your Son,
and commit us to the growth of his kingdom.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have called us again
through the body of your Son
to make the body of his Church more and more
the living sign of your presence
and of your action in this world.
Make us also receptive
of all the good there is in this world.
Help us to dialogue with our times
and with the people of today,
that this world may be yours
and you our God forever.
Blessing
REFLECTIONS
Luke 12:54-59
Farmers in Palestine often read the sky for clues about the weather, and Jesus highlights their impressive skill. Clouds gathering in the west, over the Mediterranean, signalled rain, while a wind from the southern desert brought the hot, dry and dusty wind that withered crops and tested people's patience. William Barclay shares insights about these local weather signs in his notes on the chapter. The argument is a comparison rather than a rebuke of ignorance: people who can predict tomorrow's weather from a cloud the size of a hand are somehow unable to read what is happening in front of them.
The second image is drawn from the courts, illustrating how debt was a widespread hardship for small farmers. Often, a creditor could bring a debtor before a magistrate, who would then hand them over to an officer to be imprisoned until the debt was fully paid—down to the very last small coin. Bible commentaries on this passage note that the coin referred to as the lepton was the smallest in circulation, emphasizing just how modest the amounts involved could be.
Everyone listening understood the sequence well and recognised that the best move was to settle on the road before reaching the courthouse. Barclay points out that the story suggests a defendant with no hope left, so waiting would only make things worse.
Jesus uses both images to encourage us in the present: the signs are clear, and the time to act is now, while everyone is still moving forward. The advice that comes from this is gentle and practical — a friendly reminder to seek reconciliation now, rather than delaying until circumstances force us to it.
William Barclay observes that Jesus and his great servants have always been gripped by the urgency of time, which is why the advice is to settle matters while the road still allows it (see Barclay on Luke 12).
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It was to this far-flung town that a young doctor, Pitt Ojeda, decided to set up her clinic. There was no medical doctor there at the time, and she saw the signs of the times beckoning her to stay and dedicate her medical practice to the people of San Francisco. She left the comfort of her home in Metro Manila, even to the point of sacrificing time with her children, who saw her only during their summer holiday. In time, she became the “Doctora” of everyone. As the people were poor, they paid for her service with vegetables, chickens, fish, and other produce.
The “Doctora” lived to a ripe old age of 90, healing the people until her last day in San Francisco.