November 10, 2026
Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the
Church
Lectionary: 492
Reading 1
Beloved:
You must say what is consistent with sound doctrine,
namely, that older men should be temperate, dignified,
self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance.
Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior,
not slanderers, not addicted to drink,
teaching what is good, so that they may train younger women
to love their husbands and children,
to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers,
under the control of their husbands,
so that the word of God may not be discredited.
Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves,
showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect,
with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech
that cannot be criticized,
so that the opponent will be put to shame
without anything bad to say about us.
For the grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of the great God
and of our savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
37:3-4, 18 and 23, 27 and 29
R. (39a) The salvation of the just
comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart’s requests.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The LORD watches over the lives of the wholehearted;
their inheritance lasts forever.
By the LORD are the steps of a man made firm,
and he approves his way.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
The just shall possess the land
and dwell in it forever.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the Apostles:
“Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?
Would he not rather say to him,
‘Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished’?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded, say,
‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.’”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111026.cfm
Commentary on Titus
2:1-8,11-14
Today the Letter continues by giving some moral instructions
to the community at large. It also makes very clear and challenging demands on
Titus himself. With the many false teachers in mind, Titus is told that he in
particular is to spell out the kind of behaviour that follows from the true
teaching of the gospel. Paul writes, “as for you”—where the ‘you’ is emphatic
and contrasts the teaching of Titus with that of the false and Gnostic teachers
previously denounced.
Instructions are now given on the kind of behaviour that is
expected of all, regardless of age, gender or status in the community. In
living out the gospel, the older men in the community, by virtue of their
seniority and experience of life, were expected to be:
…temperate, serious, self-controlled, and sound in faith,
in love, and in endurance.
This was to be in contrast to many Cretans, described
earlier as:
…liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons. (Titus 1:12)
The same standards were expected of older women in the
Christian community, where it is clear that they had a better status than their
non-Christian counterparts. They are:
…not to be slanderers or enslaved to much wine…
This perhaps suggests that such behaviour was characteristic
of Cretan women.
On the contrary, they are to give an example to younger
women:
…to love their husbands, to love their children, to be
self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind…
And in the mode of their time, they are also told to be:
…submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God
may not be discredited.
Notably, this last injunction should be balanced with what
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians says are the duties of the husband towards his
wife:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church
and gave himself up for her… (Eph 5:25)
In these two passages, different Greek words for “love” are
used: philia (in Titus) and agape (in Ephesians). Actually, philia
is probably the more appropriate word for a united married couple.
And—it is important to remember this—all of this is part of
living the gospel message in a very practical way. This is how married couples
give witness to the message of the gospel. If they fail to live in this way,
the effectiveness of the gospel can be diminished.
Titus himself then is urged especially to give an example to
younger men. The call to be “self-controlled in all things” was very much in
the Greek tradition, but it is something frequently mentioned in these letters.
It is also clear that young men then were not very different to those in every
other age, including our own. “Moderation” is not usually considered one of
their strong characteristics.
Titus is called on to be an example of integrity and
consistency in his teaching and his lifestyle so that there can never be any
serious criticism levelled at him. Perhaps Titus was still a young man, and not
yet well respected by the Cretan churches. The demands on a leader are
all-inclusive, involving not only his word, but also his lifestyle. As the
Letter of James tells us:
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and
sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment. (James
3:1)
Whether we like it or not, the message is often identified
with the messenger. So where Titus is seen to be consistently faithful, when
his behaviour matches his word, his opponents will have nothing to throw
against him.
Of course, in practice, we do have to distinguish between
the message and the messenger. The Church or any member of it cannot and should
not be identified with Christianity itself, which is a vision of life, an ideal
to be aimed at. The message is sublime, but it is carried in very brittle and
very porous vessels, and it is important to remember that.
At this point, two verses which deal with slaves are
omitted, presumably on the assumption that they are no longer relevant. We
might reflect, however, on how many people in our societies are treated
virtually as slaves, e.g. exploited migrant workers, young children abducted
and trafficked for the sex industry, just to mention two examples.
The passage concludes with some general remarks about the
Christian faith. Through Christ, God’s gratuitous love for peoples everywhere
(and not just for an elite group) has been made known to us. Through Paul’s
words, we know that this message must influence the way we live. It tells us
what we need to do, and the kind of people we need to become so that we can one
day be forever united with our God. Everything that does not point us in that
direction should be removed from our lives. Orthodoxy must be accompanied by orthopraxis,
i.e. right thinking by right doing.
To do so calls for certain standards of behaviour and acting
as we prepare for the day when we come face to face with “our great God and
Saviour, Jesus Christ”, who has made it all possible for us. This phrase is
often referred to by the Fathers of the Church to affirm the divinity of Jesus
Christ.
It was the sacrifice of his own life on the cross which
brought about our becoming a truly free people:
…a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
And that is a definition of freedom—the ability, in every
situation, to do what is good.
Preaching alone will not bring about change in our
communities. It must be followed up by individuals, families and groups
consciously trying to implement the message that comes to us in the Gospels.
And we can only do that really as a mutually supportive community. It is not
something that can be done left entirely to our own devices. The ‘Church’ is
not some amorphous entity which we can praise or blame at will—it consists of
all of us—individuals, families and groups. If the Church is at fault, it means
that the fault lies in ourselves—that is where it is to be tackled.
Commentary on Luke
17:7-10
Today we have another warning from Luke (and one which is
only found in his Gospel) about complacency. As we read this parable we must be
careful—as with many of the others—not to confuse matters by dragging in issues
which are anachronistic. Jesus asks:
Who among you would say to your slave who has just come
in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your
place at the table’.
Would we invite him to sit down, have his supper and take a
good rest?
Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me;
put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and
drink’?
Would we even express gratitude to a servant who was only
doing what was expected of him?
Here, let us temporarily put aside our current understanding
of workers’ rights, democracy and the evils and long-lasting repercussions of
slavery of every kind. No one in Jesus’ time, either an employer or a slave,
would have thought for a moment of questioning what he is saying. At the same
time, we might remember Jesus saying that watchful servants will be welcomed by
their master who will make them sit down and will wait personally on them (see
Luke 12:37), and that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet as an example of
service.
What we are dealing with here is our relationship with God.
The point Jesus is making is that God need never be grateful to us for anything
we do for him. No matter how much we do for him, we can never put him in our
debt. Everything we give to God (or to God through others) is simply giving
back to him a small portion of what he has already given us. It is well said in
Preface IV for Weekday Masses:
You have no need of our praise, yet our desire to thank
you is itself your gift. Our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to your
greatness, but makes us grow in your grace.
God can never be in our debt. He can never be under any
obligation to us. Perhaps that is what some of the Pharisees thought. They
believed that, because they kept the Law perfectly, God owed them salvation. We
see that in the scene of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the
Temple, where the Pharisee’s prayer gives the impression that God should be
deeply grateful to have, among so many negligent people, such a good person as
himself.
We can do the same thing ourselves when, for instance, we
think that by saying certain prayers or performing certain acts (like novenas,
indulgences and pilgrimages), God should jump to attention and do what we are
telling him to do or give us what we are asking for.
All our living out of the gospel is not a compliment paid to
God. On the contrary, we can never be grateful enough to him for showing us the
way to truth, love, freedom and happiness which Jesus taught us, and for giving
us the grace to walk in his Way. With God, all our giving is only an imperfect
and partial giving back.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary
Tuesday,
November 10, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God of power and mercy, protect us from all harm. Give us
freedom of spirit and health in mind and body to do your work on earth.
We ask this through our Lord
Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Luke 17: 7-10
Jesus said: “Which of you, with
a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from
the fields, ‘Come and have your meal at once?’ Would he not be more likely to
say, ‘Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and
drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards?’ Must he be grateful to the servant
for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been
told to do, say, ‘We are useless servants: we have done no more than our
duty.’”
Reflection
The Gospel today narrates the parable which
is found only in Luke’s Gospel and has no parallel in the other Gospels. The
parable wants to teach that our life has to be characterized by an attitude of
service. It begins with three questions and at the end Jesus himself gives the
answer.
•
Luke 17: 7-9: The three questions of Jesus. It
treats of three questions taken from daily life, and therefore, the auditors
have to think each one on his own experience to give a response according to
that experience. The first question: “Which of you, with a servant ploughing or
minding sheep would say to him when he returned from the fields, ‟Come
and have your meal at once?” All will answer: “No!” Second question: “Would he
not be more likely to say,
“Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and
wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards?”
All will answer: “Yes! Certainly!” Third question: “Must he be grateful to the
servant for doing what he was told?” All will answer “No!” The way in which
Jesus asks the questions, people become aware in which way he wants to orientate
our thought. He wants us to be servants to one another.
•
Luke 17: 10: The response of Jesus. At the end
Jesus himself draws a conclusion which was already implicit in the questions:
“So with you, when you have done all you have been told to do, say „We are
useless servants, we have done no more than our duty.” Jesus himself has given
us example when he said: “The Son of Man has not come to be served, but to
serve” (Mk 10: 45).
Service is a theme which Luke
likes. Service represents the form in which the poor in the time of Jesus, the anawim, were waiting for the Messiah:
not like a king and glorious Messiah, high priest or judge, but rather as the
Servant of Yahweh, announced by Isaiah (Is 42: 1-9). Mary, the Mother of Jesus,
says to the Angel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me
according to your word!” (Lk 1: 38). In Nazareth, Jesus presents himself as the
Servant described by Isaiah (Lk 4: 18-19 and Is 61: 1-2). In Baptism and in the
Transfiguration,
he was confirmed by the Father who quotes the words addressed by God to the
Servant (Lk 3: 22; 9: 35 and Is 42: 1). Jesus asks his followers: “Anyone who
wants to be first among you must be your slave” (Mt 20: 27). Useless servants!
This is the definition of the Christian. Paul speaks about this to the members
of the community of Corinth when he writes: “I did the planting, Apollos did
the watering, but God gave growth. In this neither the planter nor the waterer
counts for anything, only God who gave growth” (1Cor 3: 6-7). Paul and Apollos
are nothing; only simple instruments, “Servants.” The only one who counts is
God, He alone! (1Cor 3: 7).
•
To serve and to be served. Here in this text,
the servant serves the master and not the master the servant. But in the other
text of Jesus the contrary is said: “Blessed those servants whom the master
finds awake when he comes. In truth, I tell you, he will do up his belt, sit
them down at table and wait on them” (Lk 12: 37). In this text, the master
serves the servant and not the servant the master. In the first text, Jesus
spoke in the present. In the second text, Jesus is speaking in the future. This
contrast is another way of saying: the one who is ready to lose his life out of
love for Jesus and the Gospel will find it (Mt 10: 39; 16: 25). Anyone who
serves God in this present life will be served by God in the future life!
Personal Questions
•
How do I define my life?
•
Do I ask myself the three questions of Jesus? Do
I live, perhaps, like a useless servant?
Concluding Prayer
The lives of the just are in Yahweh's care,
their birthright will endure forever. Yahweh guides a strong man's steps and
keeps them firm; and takes pleasure in him. (Ps 37: 18, 23)
Saint Leo the Great, Pope and
Doctor
Leo was probably born in Rome of Tuscan parentage, but of
his early life there is no record. Under Popes Celestine I and Sixtus III, he
had at least the rank of deacon, sufficiently important for him to correspond
with Cyril of Alexandria, and also to have a treatise of John Cassian on the
Incarnation to be dedicated to him. Perhaps most significant was his being
chosen by the emperor to settle the dispute between Aëtius and Albinus, the two
highest officials in Gaul. Their feud threatened the safety of Gaul from attack
by the northern European tribes.
During Leo’s absence from Rome, Pope Sixtus III died on 11 August,
440, and Leo was unanimously elected by the people to succeed him. It was a
post he would hold with great distinction for 20 years.
His term of office was significant for a number of reasons.
His statement of the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ, acclaimed at the
Council of Chalcedon in 451, is regarded as a high point of Christian Church
history. He also acted vigorously to free Rome from the power of the tribes
invading from northern Europe, as well as restoring both the spiritual and
material damage they caused.
Both his writings and his actions revealed a deep conviction
that the doctrinal primacy of Rome was God-given and based on the Scriptures.
In fact, throughout his reign he strengthened and increased the influence and
prestige of the papacy.
His 143 surviving letters reveal a similar concern for the
Church in Spain, Gaul, and Africa. He also had to deal firmly with the
resurgence of Manichaeism, Priscillianism and Pelagianism in different places.
There were times when he had to reaffirm an ancient tradition by which a bishop
had the right to appeal to Rome. For instance, he found that Hilary as an
archbishop had exceeded his power over a fellow-bishop and overruled his
decisions. He was always conscious of the power of Peter invested in him as
Bishop of Rome.
In 452, Attila the Hun and his army laid siege to Milan and
terrorised the citizens by their violence. When Attila moved on against Rome,
he was met by Leo who persuaded him to accept tribute rather than attack the
city. Later, Leo tried the same methods in approaching the Vandal Genseric, but
he was less cooperative. Even so, Leo’s influence was such as to make the
Vandals stop short at looting the city and refrain from murdering its people
and setting it on fire. However, while many prisoners were taken off to Africa,
some church treasures were given back. Leo then sent priests and alms to the
captives in Africa and in Sicily.
His greatest achievement was the acceptance of his dogmatic
statement on the Incarnation of Christ at the Council of Chalcedon. He
expressed with great clarity the doctrine that Jesus Christ is one Person, the
Divine Word, in whom the two natures, human and divine, are permanently united
without confusion or mixture. When the council heard this document read by Leo’s
legates, they cried out:
Peter has spoken through Leo!
It would become, from then on, the official teaching of the
Christian Church.
However, the same council raised the status of the see of
Constantinople and, in spite of the legates’ protests, made it a patriarchate,
mainly for political reasons. Here, as with the fall of Rome to the barbarians,
Leo’s success was mixed with failure. He died on 10 November, 461 and was
buried at St Peter’s in Rome.
Leo’s personality has been described as one of indomitable
energy, magnanimity, consistency, and devotion to duty. His principal writings
to survive are 96 sermons and letters. He was declared a Doctor of the Church
in 1754.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary/f1110s/
