Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Pointed Towards the Cross
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
The prophet Zechariah gives us today a vision of joy, hope and universalism. The rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem after the exile assures that God lives among His people and that many nations will find God there, among them. They must be an open people, without walls, for God himself will protect them.
“They did not understand it at all,” says the gospel about the disciples, when Jesus told them about his coming passion. Jesus speaks of himself as the “Son of Man,” the mysterious person of heavenly origin predicted by Daniel. “He must be delivered up,” for he is also the Suffering Servant of the songs of Second Isaiah. Indeed, all this, about one who comes from God, is a servant, and has to suffer and die, is hard to reconcile and accept, at least from the human viewpoint. And to be told to follow his example is difficult to take too.
Let us ask for the grace to follow Christ with generous hearts. The prophet gives us today a vision of joy, hope and universalism. The rebuilding of the Temple and of Jerusalem after the exile assures that God lives in the midst of his people and that many nations will find God there, among his people. They must be an open people, without walls, for God himself will protect them.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you chose for your new people
no one else than the people
set free by the blood of your Son.
How can we be your sign among the nations
unless you are alive in our midst
in our welcome to all, our peace,
our spirit of service, our love without boundaries?
Make us capable of all these, Lord,
by the saving power of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Error: Book or format not recognized for passage: Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15a
Responsorial Psalm
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd guards his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Christ Jesus destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Listen, and remember what I tell you now: The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men.”
But the disciples didn’t understand what he meant; something prevented them from grasping it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That we may be a Church without discrimination, where everyone is welcome, we pray:
– That with God, who lets the sun shine on all, we may learn to see the good there is in people and refuse to condemn, we pray:
– That our communities may be kind and hospitable to all the people whom God has placed on our way, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you invite us to sit at the table
of Jesus Christ your Son.
Make it a long table, Lord,
that spans the earth,
and at which can sit down and take place
all people willing to come
and eager to be nourished
with the word and the body
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
through this meal of the eucharist
you have bound us more closely
to Jesus your Son and to one another.
Make it obvious for all to see
that he is alive among us,
not because we are better
but because he is our strength and hope.
By his power we try,
awkwardly and not always too well,
to love one another as he has loved us,
for he is our Lord for ever.
Blessing
An open people is a people where God is welcome and can welcome all his sons and daughters from the whole wide world. There is room there for his kingdom to feel at home and grow. May we be such a people, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
27 September 2025
The Gospel today shows us the contrast between the mountain-top and the valley. Jesus had just come down from the Transfiguration, where his glory was revealed. But immediately, he faces human suffering: a father’s desperate plea for his son, a boy tormented and thrown down, disciples who could not help, and a crowd filled with confusion. Into this scene of disorder, Jesus entered with calm authority, healing the child and restoring him to his father.
The lesson is clear. We cannot stay forever on the mountaintop. Moments of prayer and intimacy with God are given to us not as escapes, but as strength for the struggles of daily life. Like Elijah who was fed by the angel in the desert to walk forty days in God’s strength, so too must we carry the grace of prayer back into the battles of ordinary living.
This is also the lesson of St. Vincent de Paul. He was a man deeply rooted in prayer, yet his faith did not keep him apart from the world—it sent him into the valleys where the poor, the sick, and the abandoned lived. In them he saw Christ Himself. His calm and steadfast charity brought order, dignity, and hope where there had been only misery and confusion.
Finally, Jesus points His disciples to the Cross. Just as he refused the easy path of glory, St. Vincent de Paul also knew that true love requires sacrifice. To serve Christ in the poor is to take up the Cross with Him. It is not about popularity or success, but about faithfulness to God’s will and love without counting the cost.
Today, let us ask: Do we allow our prayer to strengthen us for service? Do we bring the calm of Christ into the chaos of life? Do we choose the Cross when it means loving the poor, the forgotten, and the difficult?
May St. Vincent de Paul intercede for us, that we too may find Christ in the little ones of this world, and serve him with love, rooted in prayer and expressed in action.
Carpe Diem!
St. Carlo Acutis, the computer whiz kid who became the Blessed among the millennial generation, commented thus: “We are born originals, but many live as photocopies.” How true! If only the youth made “Carpe Diem!” (=seize the day) their motto and sought to realize the dream destiny for which they had been created, uniquely and lovingly, by God! This is what the Ecclesiastes advices the youth: realize your dreams, but being mindful of God and your duty to give an account of your life. It won’t be the years of one’s life that matters, but the quality of the life lived. Such quality can be achieved only when one boldly engages life, asks exploring questions not only to the people around but to God as well, unlike the timid disciples of today’s gospel who were afraid to ask Jesus the meaning of his words. Had they dared to ask, they would have received answers enlightening their path.
28 September 2024
Falling into the arms of the beloved
Jesus predicts that he will be delivered into the hands of men. Who is capable of delivering God into the hands of man? Could Jesus have been alluding to Judas? Or was he referring to the influence of the devil? No evil forces could possibly have any control over God. Only God alone could deliver himself to man.
Luke portrays a beautiful picture of God, the lover, who surrenders himself to the embrace of his beloved. People in love express their love by surrendering themselves to their beloved. This is exactly what God did: he handed him over to people, fully aware of the dangers involved. When two young people fall in love, their parents or family members may have many objections. Regardless of their challenges, the lovers are committed to overcoming them all because their love for each other is unconditional.
Today's Gospel reveals Jesus' deep affection for humanity – God's passionate love for humanity. Luke also emphasises that the disciples failed to grasp his message. Imagine the pain when our love is rejected! God loved the world so much that he sacrificed his only son – yet the world failed to acknowledge him. Are we at risk of making the same mistake and failing to recognise God's love?
The disciples of Jesus were facing absolute mayhem when they failed to heal an epilepticboy. However, Jesus cured the boy and gave him back to his father, astonishing people around him. But the next moment, he tells them he is on the way to die.
Often, we are like the disciples. We do not understand and “are afraid to ask” because we do not want to hear unpleasant things.