A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Corinthians
4:6b-15
Brothers and sisters:
Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written,
so that none of you will be inflated with pride
in favor of one person over against another.
Who confers distinction upon you?
What do you possess that you have not received?
But if you have received it,
why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?
You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich;
you have become kings without us!
Indeed, I wish that you had become kings,
so that we also might become kings with you.
For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all,
like people sentenced to death,
since we have become a spectacle to the world,
to angels and men alike.
We are fools on Christ?s account, but you are wise in Christ;
we are weak, but you are strong;
you are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty,
we are poorly clad and roughly treated,
we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands.
When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we respond gently.
We have become like the world?s rubbish, the scum of all,
to this very moment.
I am writing you this not to shame you,
but to admonish you as my beloved children.
Even if you should have countless guides to Christ,
yet you do not have many fathers,
for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
From the Gospel according to Luke
6:1-5
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
?Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath??
Jesus said to them in reply,
?Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions??
Then he said to them, ?The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.?
This way of life, clinging to the law, distanced them from love and justice. They upheld the law, neglecting justice. They upheld the law, neglecting love. They were narrow-minded men, so attached to the law ? to the letter of the law, not to the law itself, for the law is love ? but to the letter of the law, which always shut the doors to hope, love and salvation (?) This is the path that Jesus teaches us, totally opposed to that of the doctors of the law. And this path, from love to justice, leads to God. Instead, the other path, of clinging solely to the law, to the letter of the law, leads to narrow-mindedness, to selfishness. The path from love to knowledge and discernment, to complete fulfilment, leads to holiness, to salvation, to an encounter with Jesus. This path, on the other hand, leads to selfishness, to the pride of feeling righteous, to that so-called ?holiness? of appearances, doesn?t it? (?) Jesus draws near: this closeness is precisely the proof that we are on the right path. For it is precisely the path that God has chosen to save us: closeness. He drew near to us; He became man. God who became man like one of us, and we who must become like others, like those in need, like those who need our help. (Pope Francis, Homily of 31 October 2014)
Gospel and Word of the Day – 05 September 2026 –
A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Corinthians
4:6b-15
Brothers and sisters:
Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written,
so that none of you will be inflated with pride
in favor of one person over against another.
Who confers distinction upon you?
What do you possess that you have not received?
But if you have received it,
why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?
You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich;
you have become kings without us!
Indeed, I wish that you had become kings,
so that we also might become kings with you.
For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all,
like people sentenced to death,
since we have become a spectacle to the world,
to angels and men alike.
We are fools on Christ?s account, but you are wise in Christ;
we are weak, but you are strong;
you are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty,
we are poorly clad and roughly treated,
we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands.
When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we respond gently.
We have become like the world?s rubbish, the scum of all,
to this very moment.
I am writing you this not to shame you,
but to admonish you as my beloved children.
Even if you should have countless guides to Christ,
yet you do not have many fathers,
for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
From the Gospel according to Luke
6:1-5
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
?Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath??
Jesus said to them in reply,
?Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions??
Then he said to them, ?The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.?
This way of life, clinging to the law, distanced them from love and justice. They upheld the law, neglecting justice. They upheld the law, neglecting love. They were narrow-minded men, so attached to the law ? to the letter of the law, not to the law itself, for the law is love ? but to the letter of the law, which always shut the doors to hope, love and salvation (?) This is the path that Jesus teaches us, totally opposed to that of the doctors of the law. And this path, from love to justice, leads to God. Instead, the other path, of clinging solely to the law, to the letter of the law, leads to narrow-mindedness, to selfishness. The path from love to knowledge and discernment, to complete fulfilment, leads to holiness, to salvation, to an encounter with Jesus. This path, on the other hand, leads to selfishness, to the pride of feeling righteous, to that so-called ?holiness? of appearances, doesn?t it? (?) Jesus draws near: this closeness is precisely the proof that we are on the right path. For it is precisely the path that God has chosen to save us: closeness. He drew near to us; He became man. God who became man like one of us, and we who must become like others, like those in need, like those who need our help. (Pope Francis, Homily of 31 October 2014)
A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Corinthians
4:6b-15
Brothers and sisters:
Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written,
so that none of you will be inflated with pride
in favor of one person over against another.
Who confers distinction upon you?
What do you possess that you have not received?
But if you have received it,
why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?
You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich;
you have become kings without us!
Indeed, I wish that you had become kings,
so that we also might become kings with you.
For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all,
like people sentenced to death,
since we have become a spectacle to the world,
to angels and men alike.
We are fools on Christ?s account, but you are wise in Christ;
we are weak, but you are strong;
you are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty,
we are poorly clad and roughly treated,
we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands.
When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we respond gently.
We have become like the world?s rubbish, the scum of all,
to this very moment.
I am writing you this not to shame you,
but to admonish you as my beloved children.
Even if you should have countless guides to Christ,
yet you do not have many fathers,
for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
From the Gospel according to Luke
6:1-5
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
?Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath??
Jesus said to them in reply,
?Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions??
Then he said to them, ?The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.?
This way of life, clinging to the law, distanced them from love and justice. They upheld the law, neglecting justice. They upheld the law, neglecting love. They were narrow-minded men, so attached to the law ? to the letter of the law, not to the law itself, for the law is love ? but to the letter of the law, which always shut the doors to hope, love and salvation (?) This is the path that Jesus teaches us, totally opposed to that of the doctors of the law. And this path, from love to justice, leads to God. Instead, the other path, of clinging solely to the law, to the letter of the law, leads to narrow-mindedness, to selfishness. The path from love to knowledge and discernment, to complete fulfilment, leads to holiness, to salvation, to an encounter with Jesus. This path, on the other hand, leads to selfishness, to the pride of feeling righteous, to that so-called ?holiness? of appearances, doesn?t it? (?) Jesus draws near: this closeness is precisely the proof that we are on the right path. For it is precisely the path that God has chosen to save us: closeness. He drew near to us; He became man. God who became man like one of us, and we who must become like others, like those in need, like those who need our help. (Pope Francis, Homily of 31 October 2014)