THE DAILY GOSPEL AND READINGS 23 OCTOBER 2026

/ Michael J. Cunningham

Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 477

Reading 1

Ephesians 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace;
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

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

See Matthew 11:25

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

Luke 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”

Today’s Spiritual Break, drawn from these readings

Notice

Read slowly. What in you stirs as you read?

The Play We Have Already Written

It simply creates, within the encounter, one moment of genuine openness. One moment in which the question is not how do I respond to who I know this person to be but something quieter and more honest: who is actually here?

Read the whole piece on A Spiritual Break

Pause

There is nothing to do here. Simply stay with these words for a moment.

Patience

Patience needs to be learned,
Like landing a plane,
slowing down from one speed to another’s.
Changing my mode from air to land;
bringing a mind into view
before comes the response.

This time I will try and slow down
and understand before flying by the person and
hurling a comment or another
for disturbing my peace.

Let me retain my peace in one hand
and hold this new thing … patience
in the other.
In joyful union.

Read the whole piece

Respond

When you are ready: what is one small way to carry this into your day?

Love Rehealed

Then there is the third form of forgiveness, the one where we offer it up to someone else where we are the ones doing the forgiving. In many cases, particularly in the third form of forgiveness where we’re offering it up, there seem to be residuals there. And it is here that Father Menninger tells us what forgiveness really is. He does this with a beautiful phrase called love rehealed. Those two words love rehealed say all for me. When we feel forgiven, or forgive someone truly, it does not mean we forget the event or problem that was caused, but we do the healing process associated with it. Menninger sees forgiveness as a by-product of a healed state of love and peace within us. I think this is true. It does not bypass the guilt, bad feelings, identity consequences and other sometimes terrible things that make up the facts surrounding the need for forgiveness. But it does end up returning us to a state of love, as the primary place we want to be. A new disposition, a state of love repaired, of love rehealed from the inflicted wound.

Read the whole piece on A Spiritual Break

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