An Introduction to the Sunday Scripture Readings - November 8, 2026

“Therefore, Stay Awake, For You Know Neither The Day Nor The Hour”

Our readings this Sunday speak to us about the need to always be ready for the coming of the Lord, and always let our good works shine before men. We must be ready for the end of our own life as well as for the end of time when the bridegroom (Jesus) will come in the night. Our readings contrast the wise with the foolish.

Our first reading (Wisdom 6:12-16) can be said to present the Wisdom of God in the feminine sense. Thomas Merton called it Hagia Sophia (Greek for Holy Wisdom). Merton said, “She is God-given and God himself as Gift. Sophia in all things is the Divine Life reflected in them." Today's reading is a beautiful poetic depiction of the presence of God as "resplendent and unfading...and she is found by those who seek her."

In our Epistle reading (1 Thessalonians 4:13-15), we learn that hope is not a wish; it is an expectation, founded in our faith and the love that Jesus has for us and we for Him. Our hope is the knowledge that the dead have merely fallen asleep and will rise again with Jesus. St. Paul gives us hope in two things: that Christ will come again and that we, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ, will rise with Him into a new life eternal. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.”

Our Gospel reading (Matthew 25:1-13) presents the parable of the ten virgins. This is said to be a grand metaphor representing the Kingdom of God at the final judgement. Five of the virgins were wise in having enough oil for their lamps and the other five were foolish in not having enough lamp oil for when the bridegroom comes. Here, the virgins are said to represent members of the Church at the wedding feast of Jesus and His bride, the Church, at the end of time.

It may be that the wise virgins were not selfish in refusing to share the oil from their lamps. It could be said that the oil represents all the good works of mercy and justice and faithfulness required of believers. These good works are not transferable. They can only be acquired by each person through individual acts of love and mercy, through the grace of God. When the Lord comes at the end of our own life, will we have enough oil in our lamp, enough good works to light our way to eternity? This truly separates the wise from the foolish.

bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110826.cfm

An Introduction to the Sunday Scripture Readings - November 1, 2026

“Blessed Are the Poor In Spirit”

This Sunday is the Solemnity of All Saints. This is a feast day dedicated to the saints of the Church, that is all those who have attained heaven. On this day, we especially remember the “great multitude” of unknown saints. All Saints Day was formally dedicated by Pope Boniface IV on May 13, 609 AD. It was later established as a Holy Day for November 1 by Pope Gregory IV.

Our first reading is from the Book of Revelation (RV 7:2-4, 9-14). Revelation is known as an apocalyptic book of visions of the end times. It is written by St. John in highly symbolic language. Much of the symbolic and allegorical language is borrowed from the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel, Zechariah and Daniel. In today’s reading, John writes about “a great multitude . . . from every nation, race, people and tongue” who are standing before God the Father and Christ Jesus in heaven. They have “survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.” This refers to us Christians who have survived the trials and temptations of this life. The white robes washed in the blood of Christ represent our baptism.

In our Epistle reading (1 John 3:1-3), St. John looks forward to the day when we will all be saints and will see God as He truly is. In the meantime, we live in “hope based on him.” John emphasizes divine filiation, the fact that we have been made children of God. John is amazed that we have such a privilege. This destiny that awaits us in heaven “has not yet been revealed” but when it is revealed, “we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is.” This is our hope; this is our expectation!

Our Gospel reading (Matthew 5:1-12) is Jesus’ teaching of the Beatitudes. This is a list of nine blessings from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It is a group of positive attributes, a concise list of what it is to be a saint. The lead beatitude, upon which the remaining eight are based, is the blessing of “poor in spirit”. We come to our God without merit, without possessions, depending completely on the Spirit of God for our wellbeing.

Should we ever wonder what is required of us to be saints, we need to look no further than the list of beatitudes. They are the marks of a saint. Being “imitators of Christ” is living the beatitudes. Be an imitator of Christ!

bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110126.cfm

An Introduction to the Sunday Scripture Readings - October 25, 2026

“You Shall Love The Lord, Your God, With All Your Heart”

Our readings this Sunday focus our attention on the summation of all of Scripture (the law and the prophets) into two great loves— Love of God and love of neighbor.

In our first reading (Exodus 22:20-26), we hear part of the Covenant Code, wherein God instructed Moses how the Israelites were to live in right covenant relationship with God and one another. Particular emphasis was placed on the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the alien (refugee) - the most vulnerable of society.

“Thus says the LORD, you shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.”

In our Epistle reading (1 Thessalonians 1:5-10), St. Paul praised the faith of the Thessalonians and their turn from worshiping idols to worshiping the one true God. This love of God is the foundation of their faith. Paul reminds us that we are to be imitators of Jesus and of the Saints that have gone before us - with joy, even in affliction. This is how our faith is transmitted from one generation to the next.

In our Gospel reading (Matthew 22:34-40), we hear yet another Jewish leader try to test Jesus. All of our readings from the past few weeks take place during Jesus’ last week of His life, as He entered Jerusalem and the leaders plotted against Him to kill Him. In this passage, Jesus responded to the Jewish scholar by reciting two commands from the Torah. The first was the daily recitation of the Shema’ in Deuteronomy 6:4-6 “Hear oh Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. . . .” The second was from Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as your self.” In this, Jesus summed up the entire law and prophets (meaning all of scripture). In so doing, Jesus did not abandon the ten commandments, but summarized them into two categories—the love of God (commandments 1 thru 3) and love of neighbor (commandments 4 thru 10).

Love is not a passive word; it implies action.

It is easy to love another when there is little cost. That's not the love to which we are called. We are called to love the good of the other completely, with our entire being—”with all of your heart, all of your soul and all of your mind.” It is to love joyfully "even in great affliction". This is how God loves us and it is how He asks us to love Him and one another.

bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102526.cfm

An Introduction to Sunday's Scripture Readings - October 18, 2026

“I Am The LORD And There Is No Other; There Is No God Besides Me”

Our readings this Sunday remind us that God is the Lord of the universe, subjecting all kings and principalities to Himself, whether they realize it or not. "There is no God besides me", says the Lord”.

In our first reading (Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6), God speaks of the Persian King Cyrus the Great, whom God caused to release the Jewish people from captivity in Babylon. Though Cyrus did not know God, he was nonetheless obedient to Him. When Cyrus conquered the Babylonians in 539 BC, he accomplished the will of God by allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and by financing the rebuilding of their temple.

In our Epistle reading (Thessalonians 1:1-5), we hear from the beginning of Paul's letter to the Church in Thessalonica. In this brief opening prayer and greeting, we hear very distinctly the three persons of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We also hear perhaps the earliest mention in Christian literature of the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. “. . . unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In our Gospel reading (Matthew 22:15-21), the Pharisees attempted to entrap Jesus into a binary choice of either speaking against Caesar or against God. He turned the tables on them saying, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” An important point is that because the inscription on the Roman Denarius read, “Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus”, Tiberius saw himself as the son of the god Caesar Augustus. The twist of our Gospel story today is that there is only one Son of God and it was not Tiberius. So, repay to Caesar whatever belongs to him, but we are made in the image and likeness of God. So, we repay to God what is God’s; we return to God our souls, our selves, our lives.

Today’s scripture readings ask us to consider a weighty question: in whose image are we made? Whom do we serve? If we consider that the currency of Caesar bore his image and inscription (the Roman coin), what then might be the currency of God? Who is it that bear's God's image? Is it not we, who are created in the image and likeness of God, whose inscription is written upon our hearts in Baptism?

 bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101826.cfm