Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Follow The Way Of Love
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. Ephesians speaks of the qualities of love as a response to the love shown to us in Christ. By living in love, we also imitate God. As Christians, we are light and should live as children of light.
Gospel. The stooped woman whom Jesus cured is just one example of his love. Again, the legalists protest because Jesus cured a sick person on the Sabbath. Jesus appeals to their common sense. The Sabbath is a day of God, a day when we remember God’s goodness and thank him for his love. Isn’t the day of the Lord the best day to pass on the love of the Lord to one another and create one another anew?
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
we come to you in all humility
as we acknowledge to you that we have failed
and now seek your forgiveness.
Straighten us, Lord, lift us up,
recreate us anew,
and fill us with your love
Make us lift up one another
and give thanks to you,
our merciful and living God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
As God’s most loved children, aim to imitate him.
Follow the way of love, just as Christ loved you. He gave himself up for us and became the offering and sacrificial victim, whose fragrance rises to God.
Since you are holy, there must be no hint of sexual immorality, greed, or any kind of impurity among you; these should not be named among you.
Likewise, avoid using scandalous words, nonsense, and foolishness, as they are inappropriate; instead, give thanks to God.
Know this: no depraved, impure, or greedy (that is an idolater) will have a part in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
The Kingdom of Light
Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for these are the sins God is about to condemn in those who do not obey.
Avoid associating with such people.
You were once darkness, but now, you are light in the LORD. Behave as children of light;
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see Eph. 5:1) Behave like God as his very dear children.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath,
and just then there appeared a woman who an evil spirit had caused to be bent for eighteen years, preventing her from straightening up at all.
Seeing her, Jesus called her over and said:
“Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.”
Then he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and praised God.
But the ruler of the synagogue was angry because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people:
“There are six days for work. Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath!”
But the Lord replied:
“You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath and leads it out of the barn to give it water.
And here you have a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”
When Jesus said this, all his opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many amazing things that happened because of him.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That Christians everywhere may not be men and women of legalisms and outward observances, but people with a heart who do what they can for one another because they are God’s children, we pray:
– That we may be reliable friends to those marked by suffering in any form; that we may lighten their burdens and help them trust in God and in people, we pray:
– That the eucharistic celebration on Sundays may be to all our Christian communities a source of great joy as we deeply encounter the Lord as a spring of strength to follow, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
in these signs of bread and wine
we offer you our grateful and admiring love
as a gift of pleasing fragrance.
Free us from our infirmities,
help us to stand up in your presence
as your sons and daughters,
who know that you love us
and who communicate that love
to all whom we meet.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
through the presence of your Son
you have doubled our happiness
and lessened our miseries.
Let him give us in this eucharist
the joy of sharing with one another
your own joy and goodness.
May we be present to one another,
as you are present to us
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing
On the day of the Lord we intercede as mediators for the great needs of the Church, of the world, and of people in need. It is nice to pray for these intentions, but may the Lord inspire and empower us to do something effective to relieve these needs, whether on the Lord’s day or any day, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Follow The Way Of Love
Luke 13:10–17
While Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, he notices a woman who has been bent over for eighteen years. She does not demand attention or force her way through the crowd. Yet Jesus sees her. He calls her forward and lays his hands upon her. Immediately, she stands upright and begins praising God.
The synagogue leader objects because Jesus has healed on the Sabbath. But Jesus reveals the true purpose of the Sabbath. If people may untie an animal and lead it to water, how much more should this suffering woman be released from the bondage that has held her for so long? Worship honours God when it makes room for mercy and helps people stand tall.
This Gospel invites us to notice those who are bent low beneath burdens we may not see: loneliness, illness, poverty, grief, fear, discrimination, or exhausting expectations. Good rules and sound structures matter, but they lose their purpose when they protect convenience while leaving people trapped and unheard.
Perhaps someone near us needs a practical act of mercy: a welcoming word, a ride, a simple requirement, a defended moment of rest, or simply the dignity of being listened to. We should not speak about people when we can speak with them. We should not merely admire Jesus’ compassion; we should allow him to make us instruments of it.
The crowd rejoiced because Jesus showed what the Sabbath—and all true worship—is meant to celebrate: God loosens bonds, restores dignity, and gives his children the courage to stand upright.
Prayer: Jesus, help me notice those who are bent low. Make me compassionate and courageous, so that through my words and actions others may experience your freedom and love. Amen.