A reading from the Book of Baruch
4:5-12, 27-29
Fear not, my people!
Remember, Israel,
You were sold to the nations
not for your destruction;
It was because you angered God
that you were handed over to your foes.
For you provoked your Maker
with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods;
You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you,
and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.
She indeed saw coming upon you
the anger of God; and she said:
"Hear, you neighbors of Zion!
God has brought great mourning upon me,
For I have seen the captivity
that the Eternal God has brought
upon my sons and daughters.
With joy I fostered them;
but with mourning and lament I let them go.
Let no one gloat over me, a widow,
bereft of many:
For the sins of my children I am left desolate,
because they turned from the law of God.
Fear not, my children; call out to God!
He who brought this upon you will remember you.
As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God,
turn now ten times the more to seek him;
For he who has brought disaster upon you
will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy."
From the Gospel according to Luke
10:17-24
The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
There is a case where the evangelist explicitly attributes to the Holy Spirit the prayer of Jesus, not without hinting at the habitual state of contemplation from which it sprang. It is when, on His journey toward Jerusalem, He converses with the disciples, among whom He has chosen seventy-two to send out, after having properly instructed them, to evangelize the people in the places He is about to visit (cf. Luke 10). Upon their return from that mission, the seventy-two recount to Jesus what they have accomplished, including the “submission” of demons in His Name. And Jesus, after telling them that He had seen “Satan fall from heaven like lightning,” rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” This text from Luke, alongside the one from John that relates the farewell discourse in the upper room (cf. Jn 13-14), is particularly significant and eloquent regarding the revelation of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s messianic mission. […] In the entirety of the preaching and actions of Jesus Christ, which flow from His union with the Holy Spirit-Love, there is contained an immense richness of the heart: “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,” He urges, “and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29), but at the same time, there is the firmness of the truth regarding the kingdom of God, and therefore the persistent invitation to open the heart, under the action of the Holy Spirit, to be admitted to it and not excluded. In all of this, the “power of the Holy Spirit” is revealed – and indeed, the Holy Spirit Himself is manifested with His presence and action as the Paraclete, the comforter of man, the confirmer of divine truth, and the one who defeats the “ruler of this world.” (St. John Paul II, General Audience, 25 July 1990)
Gospel and Word of the Day – 04 October 2025 –
A reading from the Book of Baruch
4:5-12, 27-29
Fear not, my people!
Remember, Israel,
You were sold to the nations
not for your destruction;
It was because you angered God
that you were handed over to your foes.
For you provoked your Maker
with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods;
You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you,
and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.
She indeed saw coming upon you
the anger of God; and she said:
"Hear, you neighbors of Zion!
God has brought great mourning upon me,
For I have seen the captivity
that the Eternal God has brought
upon my sons and daughters.
With joy I fostered them;
but with mourning and lament I let them go.
Let no one gloat over me, a widow,
bereft of many:
For the sins of my children I am left desolate,
because they turned from the law of God.
Fear not, my children; call out to God!
He who brought this upon you will remember you.
As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God,
turn now ten times the more to seek him;
For he who has brought disaster upon you
will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy."
From the Gospel according to Luke
10:17-24
The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
There is a case where the evangelist explicitly attributes to the Holy Spirit the prayer of Jesus, not without hinting at the habitual state of contemplation from which it sprang. It is when, on His journey toward Jerusalem, He converses with the disciples, among whom He has chosen seventy-two to send out, after having properly instructed them, to evangelize the people in the places He is about to visit (cf. Luke 10). Upon their return from that mission, the seventy-two recount to Jesus what they have accomplished, including the “submission” of demons in His Name. And Jesus, after telling them that He had seen “Satan fall from heaven like lightning,” rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” This text from Luke, alongside the one from John that relates the farewell discourse in the upper room (cf. Jn 13-14), is particularly significant and eloquent regarding the revelation of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s messianic mission. […] In the entirety of the preaching and actions of Jesus Christ, which flow from His union with the Holy Spirit-Love, there is contained an immense richness of the heart: “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,” He urges, “and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29), but at the same time, there is the firmness of the truth regarding the kingdom of God, and therefore the persistent invitation to open the heart, under the action of the Holy Spirit, to be admitted to it and not excluded. In all of this, the “power of the Holy Spirit” is revealed – and indeed, the Holy Spirit Himself is manifested with His presence and action as the Paraclete, the comforter of man, the confirmer of divine truth, and the one who defeats the “ruler of this world.” (St. John Paul II, General Audience, 25 July 1990)
A reading from the Book of Baruch
4:5-12, 27-29
Fear not, my people!
Remember, Israel,
You were sold to the nations
not for your destruction;
It was because you angered God
that you were handed over to your foes.
For you provoked your Maker
with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods;
You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you,
and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.
She indeed saw coming upon you
the anger of God; and she said:
"Hear, you neighbors of Zion!
God has brought great mourning upon me,
For I have seen the captivity
that the Eternal God has brought
upon my sons and daughters.
With joy I fostered them;
but with mourning and lament I let them go.
Let no one gloat over me, a widow,
bereft of many:
For the sins of my children I am left desolate,
because they turned from the law of God.
Fear not, my children; call out to God!
He who brought this upon you will remember you.
As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God,
turn now ten times the more to seek him;
For he who has brought disaster upon you
will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy."
From the Gospel according to Luke
10:17-24
The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
There is a case where the evangelist explicitly attributes to the Holy Spirit the prayer of Jesus, not without hinting at the habitual state of contemplation from which it sprang. It is when, on His journey toward Jerusalem, He converses with the disciples, among whom He has chosen seventy-two to send out, after having properly instructed them, to evangelize the people in the places He is about to visit (cf. Luke 10). Upon their return from that mission, the seventy-two recount to Jesus what they have accomplished, including the “submission” of demons in His Name. And Jesus, after telling them that He had seen “Satan fall from heaven like lightning,” rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” This text from Luke, alongside the one from John that relates the farewell discourse in the upper room (cf. Jn 13-14), is particularly significant and eloquent regarding the revelation of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s messianic mission. […] In the entirety of the preaching and actions of Jesus Christ, which flow from His union with the Holy Spirit-Love, there is contained an immense richness of the heart: “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,” He urges, “and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29), but at the same time, there is the firmness of the truth regarding the kingdom of God, and therefore the persistent invitation to open the heart, under the action of the Holy Spirit, to be admitted to it and not excluded. In all of this, the “power of the Holy Spirit” is revealed – and indeed, the Holy Spirit Himself is manifested with His presence and action as the Paraclete, the comforter of man, the confirmer of divine truth, and the one who defeats the “ruler of this world.” (St. John Paul II, General Audience, 25 July 1990)