A reading from the Book Ecclesiastes
1:2-11
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!
What profit has man from all the labor
which he toils at under the sun?
One generation passes and another comes,
but the world forever stays.
The sun rises and the sun goes down;
then it presses on to the place where it rises.
Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north,
the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds.
All rivers go to the sea,
yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they go,
the rivers keep on going.
All speech is labored;
there is nothing one can say.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing
nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.
What has been, that will be;
what has been done, that will be done.
Nothing is new under the sun.
Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!”
has already existed in the ages that preceded us.
There is no remembrance of the men of old;
nor of those to come will there be any remembrance
among those who come after them.
From the Gospel according to Luke
9:7-9
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,
and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying,
“John has been raised from the dead”;
others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”;
still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”
But Herod said, “John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.
You come to know Jesus in the day-to-day routine of everyday life. (…) Yes, you must learn about Jesus from the Catechism. But it is not enough to know Him with your mind: that is just the first step. You must come to know Jesus through dialogue with Him, by speaking to Him, in prayer, on your knees. If you do not pray, if you do not speak to Jesus, you do not know Him. You know things about Jesus, but you do not have that knowledge which the heart gives you in prayer. Knowing Jesus with the mind comes from studying the Catechism; knowing Jesus with the heart comes from prayer and dialogue with Him. This helps us quite a lot, but it is not enough… There is a third way to get to know Jesus: it is discipleship. Going with Him, walking with Him. (…) One cannot get to know Jesus without committing yourself to Him, without staking your life on Him. When so many people – including ourselves – ask this question, “But who is this?”, the Word of God answers us: “Do you want to know who this is? Read what the Church tells you about Him, speak to Him in prayer and walk His path with Him. In this way, you will come to know who this man is”. This is the way! (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 26 September 2013)
Gospel and Word of the Day – 24 September 2026 –
A reading from the Book Ecclesiastes
1:2-11
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!
What profit has man from all the labor
which he toils at under the sun?
One generation passes and another comes,
but the world forever stays.
The sun rises and the sun goes down;
then it presses on to the place where it rises.
Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north,
the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds.
All rivers go to the sea,
yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they go,
the rivers keep on going.
All speech is labored;
there is nothing one can say.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing
nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.
What has been, that will be;
what has been done, that will be done.
Nothing is new under the sun.
Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!”
has already existed in the ages that preceded us.
There is no remembrance of the men of old;
nor of those to come will there be any remembrance
among those who come after them.
From the Gospel according to Luke
9:7-9
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,
and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying,
“John has been raised from the dead”;
others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”;
still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”
But Herod said, “John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.
You come to know Jesus in the day-to-day routine of everyday life. (…) Yes, you must learn about Jesus from the Catechism. But it is not enough to know Him with your mind: that is just the first step. You must come to know Jesus through dialogue with Him, by speaking to Him, in prayer, on your knees. If you do not pray, if you do not speak to Jesus, you do not know Him. You know things about Jesus, but you do not have that knowledge which the heart gives you in prayer. Knowing Jesus with the mind comes from studying the Catechism; knowing Jesus with the heart comes from prayer and dialogue with Him. This helps us quite a lot, but it is not enough… There is a third way to get to know Jesus: it is discipleship. Going with Him, walking with Him. (…) One cannot get to know Jesus without committing yourself to Him, without staking your life on Him. When so many people – including ourselves – ask this question, “But who is this?”, the Word of God answers us: “Do you want to know who this is? Read what the Church tells you about Him, speak to Him in prayer and walk His path with Him. In this way, you will come to know who this man is”. This is the way! (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 26 September 2013)
A reading from the Book Ecclesiastes
1:2-11
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!
What profit has man from all the labor
which he toils at under the sun?
One generation passes and another comes,
but the world forever stays.
The sun rises and the sun goes down;
then it presses on to the place where it rises.
Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north,
the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds.
All rivers go to the sea,
yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they go,
the rivers keep on going.
All speech is labored;
there is nothing one can say.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing
nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.
What has been, that will be;
what has been done, that will be done.
Nothing is new under the sun.
Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!”
has already existed in the ages that preceded us.
There is no remembrance of the men of old;
nor of those to come will there be any remembrance
among those who come after them.
From the Gospel according to Luke
9:7-9
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,
and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying,
“John has been raised from the dead”;
others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”;
still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”
But Herod said, “John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.
You come to know Jesus in the day-to-day routine of everyday life. (…) Yes, you must learn about Jesus from the Catechism. But it is not enough to know Him with your mind: that is just the first step. You must come to know Jesus through dialogue with Him, by speaking to Him, in prayer, on your knees. If you do not pray, if you do not speak to Jesus, you do not know Him. You know things about Jesus, but you do not have that knowledge which the heart gives you in prayer. Knowing Jesus with the mind comes from studying the Catechism; knowing Jesus with the heart comes from prayer and dialogue with Him. This helps us quite a lot, but it is not enough… There is a third way to get to know Jesus: it is discipleship. Going with Him, walking with Him. (…) One cannot get to know Jesus without committing yourself to Him, without staking your life on Him. When so many people – including ourselves – ask this question, “But who is this?”, the Word of God answers us: “Do you want to know who this is? Read what the Church tells you about Him, speak to Him in prayer and walk His path with Him. In this way, you will come to know who this man is”. This is the way! (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 26 September 2013)