November 12, 2025
Memorial of Saint Josaphat,
Bishop and Martyr
Lectionary: 493
Reading
1
Hear, O kings, and
understand;
learn, you magistrates of the earth's expanse!
Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude
and lord it over throngs of peoples!
Because authority was given you by the Lord
and sovereignty by the Most High,
who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels.
Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly,
and did not keep the law,
nor walk according to the will of God,
Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you,
because judgment is stern for the exalted–
For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy
but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.
For the Lord of all shows no partiality,
nor does he fear greatness,
Because he himself made the great as well as the small,
and he provides for all alike;
but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends.
To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed
that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin.
For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy,
and those learned in them will have ready a response.
Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (8a) Rise
up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
Defend the lowly and the fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the lowly and the poor;
from the hand of the wicked deliver them.
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
I said: "You are gods,
all of you sons of the Most High;
yet like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince."
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
As Jesus continued
his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111225.cfm
Commentary on Wisdom 6:1-11
Today we enter a
part of the book which deals with Solomon and his quest for wisdom. As
mentioned, the author, as a literary device (quite common in his day), presents
his work as that of King Solomon, the son of David, who had died centuries
previously.
Unlike the
beginning of Monday’s reading where the author seemed to be addressing kings
and rulers, but was in fact speaking to his fellow-Jews in Alexandria, today
the words are addressed to kings with warnings on how to fulfil their
responsibilities. It is a warning that their power is not something to be taken
for granted or sought for its own sake. He speaks to those:
…who rule over
multitudes and boast of many nations.
It was an age of
empires, with one succeeding the other as each one toppled.
Of course, we need
to remember that what applies to them also applies to all who are in positions
of authority and responsibility over others, even if on a much lower scale.
Rulers need to
remember that all power emanates from God:
For your
dominion was given you from the Lord and your sovereignty from the Most High…
The doctrine of
the divine origin of power had already been variously asserted in Scripture
with regard to Israel’s kings. Here the author extends its application to
include all rulers whatsoever, believing or non-believing. However great the
trappings with which they are surrounded, they are merely ‘servants’ of God’s
overall sovereignty. It is God who will look closely at everything they do and
analyse their secret intentions and in the end pass judgement on their record.
Many, he implies,
abused their power (and many still do) and will face severe punishment. It will
be too bad for them, as servants of the King of kings, if they have not ruled
with justice or followed the law—whether that is the Mosaic law or any legal
code which is based on the natural law recognised by all and interpreted by
conscience. As Paul comments in his Letter to the Romans:
When gentiles,
who do not possess the law, by nature do what the law requires, these, though
not having the law, are a law to themselves. (Rom 2:14)
It is the part of
his Letter where he asserts that the Gentiles, even though deprived of the
guidance of the Jewish Law, have enough evidence from the world around them to
make sound moral judgements.
Kings and leaders
who do not follow the will of God by observing enacted laws of their peoples
will have a swift and terrible judgement. In the Old Testament, even people
like Moses, King David and King Hezekiah met with severe punishment. Moses was
not allowed to bring his people into the Promised Land. David saw his son and
heir killed by his own soldiers. Hezekiah would have all his royal property
take off to Babylon.
The higher a
person’s rank, the greater their responsibility and thus the greater the
punishment when they step out of line:
…he will come
upon you terribly and swiftly, because severe judgment falls on those in high
places.
As the Gospel
says:
From everyone
to whom much has been given, much will be required… (Luke 12:48)
The resources of
the rulers are greater, so their responsibility is greater and hence their
accountability is all the more.
However, those at
the bottom of the social ladder will be treated more tolerantly. They (the
poor) will be pardoned “out of mercy” partly because of ignorance, illiteracy
and perhaps oppressive conditions which might drive them to desperate measures
to survive. If they stole something, it was probably because they had nothing
to eat for themselves and their family. When kings steal, they reduce others to
poverty.
And God is in awe
of no king, however powerful, however extensive the territories over which he
rules. He is the Maker of all—great and small alike and has equal power over
all of them. Hence, “a strict inquiry is in store for the mighty.”
Concluding on a
more positive note, rulers are encouraged to “learn wisdom” so that they may
not fall into error. Wisdom, not power and wealth, is the most precious thing
they can have. Solomon was praised by God for asking for wisdom rather than for
power, wealth or the destruction of his enemies:
For they will
be made holy who observe holy things in holiness…
That is, those who
faithfully obey the will of God will be recognised as ‘holy ones’ at the
judgement. This applies to king and commoner alike. True wisdom, true insight
into the meaning of life and into the relationships that govern the
interactions of people is what will keep them on the paths of goodness and
justice. If only they will listen to what the author has to say about Wisdom,
they will learn what they need most to know as just rulers.
Almost all of us
are in some way in positions of some authority, or positions of responsibility
often involving other people. It is important for us to realise that authority
does not give us the right to claim special privileges over others, still less
to abuse or manipulate people for our own ends.
On the contrary it
imposes on us a serious responsibility to empower others, to help them generate
their potential to the fullest. The higher our position of authority, the
greater is the need for us to be at the disposal of those committed to our
charge. The higher we are, the more we need to serve. Like Jesus, we are all
called to serve and not to be served.
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Commentary on Luke 17:11-19
This story of
Jesus’ compassion is unique to Luke. We are told that Jesus was travelling on
the borders of Galilee, the northern province of Palestine, and Samaria, which
lies between Galilee and the southern province of Judea. Jesus is making for
the Jordan valley on his way south to Jericho, one of his last stops before
reaching his final destination in Jerusalem.
Just as he entered
a village he was met by ten lepers (it does not specify whether they were men
or women). As lepers they were not allowed to come in close proximity with
other people. This was because it was (rightly) known that the condition could
be transmitted to others by physical contact—though we know now it needed to be
fairly prolonged contact. (Remember how the famous Fr Damien, the Apostle to the
Lepers, eventually contracted the disease through his ministering to a colony
of lepers on the island of Molokai in Hawaii.)
Because of their
dreaded disease, such people were outcasts, condemned to live their lives on
the fringes of society. The tragedy is that, given the limited medical
knowledge of the times, many such people were almost certainly not suffering
from leprosy at all, but from some other non-contagious, perhaps chronic skin
disease.
So, calling Jesus
from a safe distance, they cried out:
Jesus, Master,
have mercy on us!
Jesus simply told
them to go and show themselves to the priests. And, while they were on their
way, they were all cured. Presumably they continued on their way to see the
priests who would give them an official declaration of being ‘clean’ so that
they could once again legitimately return to life in society. A major element
of their healing was their re-integration into society.
Just one of the
cured lepers then came back to Jesus “praising God with a loud voice”, and in
deep gratitude fell at the feet of Jesus:
And he was a
Samaritan.
These words are
loaded with meaning, for it is presumed that the rest were Jews. In the first
place, Jews and Samaritans could not stand each other, and the Jews tended to
look down on the Samaritans as ungodly and unclean. But in the misfortune of
their leprosy, these Jews and Samaritans, rejected by both their own peoples,
found common support in each other’s company.
But now that they
are cured, only one of them comes to say thanks and he is still—in the eyes of
the Jews—an outcast. Jesus, looking around at the Jews in his company,
expresses surprise:
Were not ten
made clean? So where are the other nine?
The only one to
come back and give thanks was a despised foreigner.
This unexpected
action is also reflected in another of Luke’s stories, which we reflected on
earlier, that of the so-called ‘good Samaritan’. Today, in this Gospel reading
is another good Samaritan. And, of course, there is a third—the Samaritan woman
who is featured prominently in John’s Gospel (John 4:4-42).
To the man in
today’s Gospel, Jesus says:
Get up and go
on your way; your faith has made you well.
That “get up” or
‘rise up’, which Jesus often uses with those he heals, has echoes of
resurrection and entry into new life—a life of wholeness brought about by the
man’s trust in Jesus and his acknowledgment of the source of his healing.
In the context of
Luke’s Gospel, the story prepares us for developments in the growth of the
early Church, described in Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. This is because, as the
early Christians (all of them Jews) flee from persecution in Jerusalem, the
people of Samaria are among the first to accept Jesus as Lord and to become
followers of the gospel. On the other hand, many of the Jews in Jerusalem remained
closed to Jesus’ message and call.
We, too, must
never give in to a temptation to exclude any people as possible followers of
Christ. We must be ready to reach out to all, even the most unlikely. None must
be treated as outsiders or untouchables, even those who show themselves
extremely hostile to the gospel.
And while there
may not be any real lepers in our own society, today is an occasion for us to
reflect on who could be regarded as lepers, outsiders, outcasts and
untouchables among us at the present time. I might also consider whether I
personally treat any person as an outsider in my home, in my work or in other
places where I meet people. Such exclusion is totally contrary to what we
celebrate in the Eucharist.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o1324g/
Wednesday,
November 12, 2025
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 17:11-19
Now it happened that on the way to
Jerusalem, Jesus was traveling in the borderlands of Samaria and Galilee.
As He entered one of the villages,
ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him,
"Jesus! Master! Take pity on us."
When He saw them He said, "Go
and show yourselves to the priests." Now as they were going away they were
cleansed.
Finding himself cured, one
of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself
prostrate at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan.
This led Jesus to say, "Were not all ten made
clean? The other nine, where are they? Has no one has come back to give praise
to God, except this foreigner?" He said to the man "Stand up and go
on your way. Your faith has saved you."
Reflection
•
In today’s Gospel, Luke gives an account of the
cure of ten lepers, in which only one thanks Jesus. And he was a Samaritan!
Gratitude is another theme which is very typical of Luke: to live in an
attitude of gratitude and to praise God for everything which we receive from
Him. This is why Luke says many times that people admired and praised God for
the things that Jesus did (Lk 2:28-38; 5:2526; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15-18; 18:43;
19:37; etc). The Gospel of Luke gives us several canticles and hymns which
express this experience of gratitude and of thanksgiving (Lk 1:46-55; 1:68-79;
2:29-32).
•
Luke 17:11: Jesus on His way to Jerusalem. Luke
recalls that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, passing through Samaria to go
to Galilee. From the beginning of His journey (Lk 9, 52) up until now (Lk 17,
11), Jesus walks through Samaria. It is only now that He is leaving Samaria,
passing through Galilee in order to reach Jerusalem. That means that the
important teachings given in these last chapters from the 9th to the 17th were
all given on a territory which was not predominantly Jewish. To hear that must
have been a great joy for Luke’s communities, which were from pagan territory.
. Jesus the pilgrim continues His journey toward Jerusalem. He continues to
eliminate the differences or inequalities which men have created. He continues
on the long and painful road of the periphery toward the capital city, from a
religion closed in upon itself toward an open religion which knows how to
accept others as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same Father.
This openness is also manifested in the acceptance given to the ten lepers.
•
Luke 17, 12-13: The calling out of the lepers.
Ten lepers went close to Jesus, and they stopped at a distance and called out:
“Jesus, Master! Take pity on us!" A leper was a person who was excluded,
marginalized, despised, and had no right to live with the family. According to
the law of purity, lepers had to go around with torn clothes and uncombed hair,
calling out: “Impure! Impure!” (Lv 13, 45-46). For the lepers to look for a
cure meant the same thing as to seek purity in order to be able to be
integrated again into the community. They could not get close to others (Lv 13,
45-46). Anyone who was touched by a leper became unclean and that prevented him
from being able to address himself to God. By means of crying out they
expressed their faith in Jesus who could cure them and give them back purity.
To obtain purity meant to feel again accepted by God and be able to address him
to receive the blessings promised to Abraham.
• Luke
17, 14: The response of Jesus and the cure. Jesus answered: "Go and show
yourselves to the priest!” (cf. Mk 1, 44). The priest had to verify the cure
and bear witness to the purity of the one who had been cured (Lv 14,1-32). The
response of Jesus demanded great faith on the part of the lepers. They had to
go to the priest as if they had already been cured when in reality their bodies
continued to be covered with leprosy. But they believed in Jesus’ word and went
to the priest It happens that along the way ,their cure takes place. They are
purified. This cure recalls the story of the purification of Naaman from
Syria (2 K 5, 9-10). The prophet
Elisha orders the man to go and wash in the Jordan. Namaan had to believe in
the word of the prophet. Jesus orders the ten lepers to present themselves to
the priests. They should believe in the word of Jesus.
•
Luke 17, 15-16: Reaction of the Samaritan. “One
of them, seeing himself cured, turned back praising God at the top of his
voice, and threw himself prostrate at the feet of Jesus, thanking him. The man
was a Samaritan”. Why did the others not return? Why only the Samaritan?
According to the opinion of the Jews of Jerusalem, the Samaritan did not
observe the law as he should. Among the Jews there was the tendency to observe
the law in order to be able to merit or deserve or acquire justice. Thanks to
the observance, they already had accumulated merits and credit before God.
Gratitude and gratuity do not form part of the vocabulary of persons who live
their relationship with God in this way. Perhaps this is the reason why they do
not thank God for the benefits received. In the parable of yesterday’s Gospel,
Jesus had formulated the same question: “Must he be grateful to the servant for
doing what he was told?” (Lk 17, 9) And the answer was “No!” The Samaritan
represents the person who realizes he has no merits or rights before God.
Everything is grace, beginning from the gift of one’s own life!
•
Luke 17, 17-19: The final observation of Jesus.
Jesus observes: “Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they?
Has no one has come back to give praise to God except this foreigner?” For
Jesus, thankfulness for benefits received is a way of rendering the praise that
is due to God. What of the others though? Are they to be faulted for carrying
out Jesus’ orders? Since it was the Law to be proclaimed clean by the priest,
the others, like the Pharisees, placed adherence to the Law above gratitude. On
this point, the Samaritans gave a lesson to the Jews. Today the poor are those
who carry out the role of the Samaritan and help us to rediscover this
dimension of gratitude in life. Everything that we receive should be considered
a gift from God who comes to us through brother and sister.
•
The welcome given to the Samaritan in the Gospel
of Luke. For Luke, the place which Jesus gave to the Samaritans is the same as
that which the communities had to reserve for the pagans. Jesus presents a
Samaritan as a model of gratitude (Lk 17, 17-19) and of love toward neighbor
(Lk 10, 30-33). This must have been quite shocking, because for the Jews, the
Samaritans or pagans were the same thing. They could not have access inside the
temple of Jerusalem or participate in worship. They were considered to be
bearers of impurity. They were impure from birth. For Luke, the Good News of
Jesus is addressed in the first place to the persons of these groups who were
considered unworthy to receive it. The salvation of God which reaches us
through Jesus is purely a gift. It does not depend on the merits of any one.
Personal questions
•
Do you generally thank persons? Do you thank out
of conviction or simply because of custom? In prayer, do you give God thanks,
or do you forget?
•
To live with gratitude is a sign of the presence
of the Kingdom in our midst. How can we transmit to others the importance of
living in gratitude and in gratuity?
Concluding prayer
Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack
nothing.
In grassy meadows He lets me lie.
By tranquil streams He leads me. (Ps 23:1-2)
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