September 26, 2026
Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 454
Reading 1
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart,
the vision of your eyes;
Yet understand that as regards all this
God will bring you to judgment.
Ward off grief from your heart
and put away trouble from your presence,
though the dawn of youth is fleeting.
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the evil days come
And the years approach of which you will say,
I have no pleasure in them;
Before the sun is darkened,
and the light, and the moon, and the stars,
while the clouds return after the rain;
When the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent,
And the grinders are idle because they are few,
and they who look through the windows grow blind;
When the doors to the street are shut,
and the sound of the mill is low;
When one waits for the chirp of a bird,
but all the daughters of song are suppressed;
And one fears heights,
and perils in the street;
When the almond tree blooms,
and the locust grows sluggish
and the caper berry is without effect,
Because man goes to his lasting home,
and mourners go about the streets;
Before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is broken,
And the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the broken pulley falls into the well,
And the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the life breath returns to God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
all things are vanity!
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Christ Jesus destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092626.cfm
Commentary on
Ecclesiastes 11:9—12:8
Today we come to the end of our selections from this book.
Even in translation, one can see the poetry of the passage. Again, it can be
read in a very pessimistic way, or with a sense of realism. The reading deals
with the inevitability of old age and what it brings.
In Jewish tradition, going back to the book of Deuteronomy,
long life was seen as a reward promised by God, and the greatest blessing given
to those who had led good lives. However, for Qoheleth, old age is not
happiness, but the fear of death, regrets for one’s younger days, the
slowing-down of life, and a painful slowing down before:
…the dust returns to the earth as it was…
So he begins by urging the young to enjoy their lives while
they still have the energy and vigour to do so. As the poet Robert Herrick
says, “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may!”
The young are told to:
Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of
your eyes…
Even so, there’s a the caveat that some day:
…for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
But there seems to be a mixed signal when he tells them to:
Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away pain from
your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
For such a carefree and hedonistic life is in fact highly
deceptive. They are told:
Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before
the days of trouble come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no
pleasure in them”…
The wise young person will be mindful of the Creator while
there is still time. For the days are coming when:
…the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are
darkened and the clouds return with the rain…
This is perhaps describing the weakening sight and cataracts
that come with aging.
There follows then a sad but moving description of old age
when:
…strong men are bent, and the women who grind cease
working…
…and the sound of the grinding is low…
[hearing difficulties arise]
…when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the
road…
[difficulty walking]
Yet, while all that is happening, life continues with never-ending
normality:
…the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself
along, and the caper bud falls…
But inexorably we move towards our “eternal home” in the
bosom of the earth.
Already the mourners are getting ready to see us off,
awaiting the moment:
…before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl
is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at
the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath
returns to God who gave it.
These are all poetic ways of describing the ultimate return
to the earth of the dust from which we came.
Finally, the Teacher closes his message using the same words
with which he opened his book:
Vanity of vanities…all is vanity.
Yet, as the Jerusalem Bible comments:
“…while the book ends with the same words with which it
began, in between it has covered much ground. It reminds us of our wretchedness
and powerlessness, but also of our greatness, by showing us that there is
something greater beyond the world in which we live. It points us in the
direction of the God who is above and beyond all that we can experience. It
incites the reader to disinterested religion and to that kind of prayer in
which a creature, aware of its nothingness, adores the mystery of God.”
Vanity, i.e. meaninglessness, is not the last word.
It is possible to feel depressed on reading this book, but
that is not its ultimate purpose and certainly not the intention of those who
chose these readings for the liturgy.
Underneath the apparent negativity and cynicism is the deep
truth of the transitoriness and fragility of all existence, and the importance
of our using well the time—long or short—that has been given to us and, through
the joys and pains that make up every life, finding God’s love and compassion
there. Life is to be enjoyed, but with the realisation that, on this earth, it
has a very definite end for each individual.
Underneath it all, one is reminded of the great Contemplation
to Attain the Love of God which concludes the Spiritual Exercises of
St Ignatius Loyola. In four steps, the one doing the Exercises is urged
to be aware of:
- the
blessings of creation and redemption with which one is surrounded;
- how
God is present in every level of creation, bringing it to its destined
fulfilment;
- how God
works for me through every created thing, including his Son Jesus Christ;
and finally,
- how
reflection and contemplation on all of this brings me to the very Source
of everything:
For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even
some of your own poets have said,
‘For we, too, are his offspring.’(Acts 17:28)
To be united with that Source is my final Destiny and I can
say with Paul:
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)
Commentary on Luke
9:43-45
After yesterday’s reading where the disciples recognised
their Master as the Messiah and are told about the death and resurrection of Jesus,
there follows the scene with the three chosen Apostles on the mountain, where
they get a glimpse of Jesus in glory (the Transfiguration). This is followed by
the healing of the epileptic boy.
The reaction of the crowds to this cure was that:
…all were astounded at the greatness of God.
They were not astounded, we might note, by the mighty power
of Jesus. Even the crowds could recognise the real source of what Jesus was
able to do.
It is at this high point of Jesus’ popularity that he says
just to his disciples:
Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is
going to be betrayed into human hands.
What Jesus seems to be saying is that they are to realise
there is no contradiction whatsoever between Jesus’ revealing in himself the
unlimited power of God and his being handed over, powerless, to the power of
his enemies. Only when they can see and understand the meaning of a suffering
Messiah will they fully know the Way of Jesus.
But Luke tells us they were not ready yet for this:
…they understood nothing about all these things; in fact,
what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
(Luke 18:34)
And Luke tells us today:
…they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
To what extent can we say that we understand and accept the
idea of a suffering Messiah? We are used to looking at the cross of Jesus, but
to what degree do we see the place of suffering in our own lives? Can we see
that, without pain and suffering in our own lives and in those of others, our
lives would be in many ways impoverished? Strange as it may seem, it is pain
and suffering that can bring out what is most deeply human in all of us.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary
Saturday,
September 26, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Father, guide us, as You guide creation
according to Your law of love.
May we love one another and come
to perfection in the eternal life prepared for us.
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 9: 43b-45
While they were all amazed at his
every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am
telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men." But they did not
understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should
not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Reflection
The Gospel today presents the second announcement of the
Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The disciples do not understand the
words about the cross, because they are not able to understand a Messiah who
becomes the servant of his brothers. They continue to dream about a glorious
Messiah.
•
Luke 9: 43b-44: The contrast. “Everyone was full
of admiration for all He did.” Jesus said to His disciples “For your part you
must have these words constantly in mind: The Son of Man is going to be
delivered into the power of men.” The contrast is very big. On one side, the
vibration and admiration of the people for everything that Jesus said and did.
Jesus seems to correspond to all that people dream, believe and expect. On the
other side, the affirmation of Jesus that He will be put to death and delivered
in the hands of men, that is, the opinion of the authority on Jesus is totally
contrary to the opinion of the people.
•
Luke 9: 45: The announcement of the Cross. “But
they did not understand what He said; for them it was so mysterious, that they
did not understand the meaning and were afraid to ask questions concerning this
argument.” The disciples listened to Him but they did not understand the words
about the cross. But even in this way, they do not ask for any clarification.
They are afraid to show their ignorance!
•
The title Son of Man. This name appears quite
frequently in the Gospels: 12 times in John, 13 in Mark, 28 in Luke, 30 in
Matthew. In all, it appears 83 times in the four Gospels. This is the name
which pleased Jesus the most. This title comes from the Old Testament. In the
Book of Ezekiel, is indicated the very human condition of the prophet (Ezek 3:
1, 4, 10, 17; 4: 1 etc.). In the Book of Daniel, the same title appears in the
apocalyptic vision (Dan 7: 1-28) in which Daniel describes the empires of the
Babylonians, of the Medes, of the Persians and of the Greeks. In the vision of
the prophet, these four empires have the appearance of “monstrous animals” (cf.
Dan 7: 3-8). They are animal empires which are brutal, inhuman, which
persecute, dehumanize and kill (Dan 7: 21, 25). In the vision of the prophet,
after the anti-human kingdoms, the Kingdom of God appears which has the
appearance, not of an animal, but rather of a human person, a Son of Man. That
is, a Kingdom with the appearance of people, a human kingdom, which promotes
life, it humanizes (Dan 7: 13-14). In the prophecy of Daniel, the Son of Man
represents, not an individual, but rather, as he himself says, the “people of
the Saints of the Most High” (Dan 7: 27; cf. Dan 7: 18). It is the People of
God who do not allow themselves to be dehumanized nor deceived or manipulated
by the dominating ideology of the animal empires. The mission of the Son of
Man, that is, of the People of God, consists in realizing the Kingdom of God as
a human kingdom. That is, a Kingdom which promotes life, which humanizes
persons.
•
Presenting Himself as Son of Man to the
disciples, Jesus makes this mission His own which is the mission of all the
People of God. It is as if He were to say to them and to all of us: “Come with
Me! This mission is not only Mine, but it belongs to all of us! Let us go together
to carry out the mission which God has entrusted to us and thus realize the
human and humanizing Kingdom of which He dreamt!” And He did this during all
his life, especially during the last three years. Pope Leo the Great said,
“Jesus was so human, but so human, like only God can be human.” The more human
He was, the more divine He was. The more He is “Son of Man” the more He is “Son
of God!” Everything which dehumanizes persons draws away from God. That was
condemned by God, who has placed the good of the human person above all the
laws, above the Sabbath or Saturday (Mk 2: 27). At the moment when He was
condemned to death by the religious tribunal of the Synedrium, Jesus assumes
this title. When He was asked if He was “the Son of God” (Mk 14: 61), He
answered that He is the “Son of Man”: “I am. And you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Almighty” (Mk 14: 62). Because of this
affirmation He was declared, by the authorities, guilty, deserving death. He
Himself knew it because He had said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10: 45).
Personal Questions
•
How do you combine suffering and faith in God in
your life?
•
In the time of Jesus there was contrast: people
thought and expected or hoped in a certain way; the religious authority thought
and expected or hoped in a different way. Today, this same contrast exists.
Concluding Prayer
For ever, Yahweh,
Your word is planted firm in heaven. Your constancy endures
from age to age; You established the earth and it stands firm. (Ps 119: 89-90)
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