Wednesday Of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
To be a disciple is to heal
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
Today’s liturgy reminds us of God’s mercy and our mission as His people. In the first reading (Ezra 9:5-9), Ezra prays with humility, acknowledging the sins of Israel yet giving thanks for God’s compassion in restoring them to new life. In his prayer of penance, Ezra focuses his attention more on the goodness of God and his constant forgiveness, notwithstanding the infidelities of his people, rather than on people’s sinfulness. Sin should make us turn to God in humility rather than make us withdraw within ourselves. We are what we are by what the Bible calls God’s mercy; this is, not only compassion and forgiveness, but also tenderness, pity, clemency, goodness, and fidelity. It also demands that people must have that attitude towards others that God shows towards them.
In the Gospel (Lk 9:1-6), Jesus sends out the Twelve with authority to heal and proclaim the Kingdom, relying only on God’s providence. These readings invite us to trust in God’s mercy and to carry His message of hope with simplicity and faith. Luke, more than the other evangelists, stresses the poverty of the apostle and thus spiritualizes the mission of the herald of the gospel. Still, he has to take people in the concrete. They are to be healed from illness, which expresses the power of evil over sinful humanity; for the Bible considers sickness a consequence of sin through this link: that the spiritual illness of sin leads to physical illness. The apostle, then, must go to the whole person in a spirit of poverty. All he has to offer is the good news, and nothing may obscure it.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your mercy extends to everyone.
Let your missionary Church go out to all
without any self-imposed, useless baggage
that obscures the pure message of the gospel
but with great humility before the good will
and the hospitality of people.
May thus our receptivity to people
make them in turn receptive to the good news
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Tobit 13:2, 3-4a, 4befghn, 7-8
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles,
for though he has scattered you among them,
he has shown you his greatness even there.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
He gave them these instructions:
And wherever they don’t welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust off your feet; it will serve as a testimony against them.
So they set out and traveled through the villages, spreading the good news and healing people everywhere.
Prayers of the Faithful
– Lord, they were only fishers cleaning their nets, but you called the apostles to spread your good news. Make us fearless to speak your word, we pray:
– Lord, he was only a tax collector behind his desk, but you called Matthew to ho heal people and cast out devils. Wounded as we are, make us healers too, we pray:
– Lord, they are only plain, unpretentious people, but you call your faithful in our communities to tolerate no injustice, and to defend the poor. Speak through all of us what is right and good, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Creator of the whole world
and lover of all, our God,
we join your Son Jesus Christ in his sacrifice
whereby he redeemed the world.
Through the Spirit of your Son,
enlighten and guide us
to bring his good news as a light
to shine on all nations
and as the healing power
that reconciles all humanity with you,
our God for ever and ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
your Son has again given us his command
to bring his message of hope and salvation
to all who are willing to listen.
We pray you now for those
whom you call especially for this task.
Let them be so much in the grip of the gospel
that they go out and place themselves
without fear or hesitation in the hands of people,
trusting in you and in the power of the gospel
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
The whole Church is mission. Missionaries must leave behind their luggage of culture and wealth, but go in all simplicity with the good news of Jesus, and must be ready also to be rejected, just as their Master was. May Almighty God bless you all, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
When we trust in His providence
Jesus called disciples to continue his mission of establishing God’s kingdom here on earth. He appointed very specially his twelve apostles for this purpose. He allowed them to participate very closely in his life and in his mission of preaching, teachingand healing. He trained them very intensively in the last few days of his existence here on earth. In today’s Gospel, Jesus exposed the twelve for the mission and sent them for practical training. As he sent them, he gave them power and authority which were needed for the mission. Besides, he also gave them some important advices. Those who are called for God’s mission should not put their trust in properties and material things. Rather, they should trust in God’s providence and the generosity of the people. The God who sends missionaries will not abandon them and certainly he will take care of them and provide them all the essentials without fail. When we go for a mission trusting in his providence and the generosity of the people, our mission will be joyful and fruitful. Let us be genuine missionaries continuing missio dei believing totally in the providence of God and generosity of the people.
25 September 2024
CONFRONTED WITH GOSPEL
Today's Gospel focuses on the task assigned to the twelve. Jesus dispatches His twelve disciples to engage with life, prompt self-reflection and decision-making, and encourage re-evaluation of their beliefs and principles.
The Apostles, chosen to live in poverty and "take nothing for the journey," are given greater authority to speak, prompting them to challenge and confront people, urging them to make decisions aligned with the teachings of Jesus. Their mission is to preach repentance, which involves not only feeling remorse for sins but also restructuring one's entire life. Individuals are compelled to reflect on the kind of life they desire and to make critical decisions about their career, job, family relationships, and the upbringing of their children. Jesus frequently asked people to make such significant choices.
"He who is not with Me is against Me. It is either God or wealth. If you wish to follow Me you must deny self and take up the cross." A choice must be made. In practical terms, this means addressing tough situations such as facing a terminal illness, encountering failure, or dealing with personal setbacks. Rather than succumbing to despair, it involves approaching adversities with grace, understanding, and confidence in one's abilities and divine providence."
It all comes down to values. What do I truly want my life to represent? The Apostles faced people with these choices. Even today, the Gospel and its preachers challenge us. How will we respond?
You have told us, Lord, that whatever we sow, that we will also reap. Help us to sow only the seeds of the Gospel.
24 September 2025
In today’s Gospel, Jesus gathers the Twelve and sends them out with a mission: to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal. This scene reminds us that to be a disciple is never a solitary experience.
He summons. Jesus calls, gathers, and unites. Every day He calls you by name—sometimes in prayer, sometimes in the midst of work, sometimes in the quiet of the evening. Discipleship is not about walking alone or shining as a star. Jesus reminds us that we belong to a team, his team, the Church. Each of us is different, with our own gifts and weaknesses, but together we are one in Him, and one for others.
He gives power. The authority Jesus gives is not the power of command or privilege, but the power to serve. It is the power to heal wounds, to restore dignity, to lift up the discouraged, to bring hope where there is despair. True Christian power is not about being treated as important—it is about bending down to wash the feet of others. That is the power Christ shares with His disciples.
He provides. Jesus tells his disciples to take nothing for the journey. Why? To teach us to rely on God’s providence. And how true this is in our lives: along the road of discipleship, God always sends people to walk with us—friends, companions, even strangers who become angels in flesh and blood. He never abandons us.
To be a disciple, then, is to hear His call, to live in communion, to serve with love, and to trust in His providence. And above all, it is to heal: to be instruments of God’s mercy in a world so wounded.