A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
2:5-11
Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and, found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
From the Gospel according to Luke
14:15-24
One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”
He replied to him,
“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
Faced with that openness, that universality of the celebration, there is that attitude that closes the heart: “I’m not going. I’d rather be by myself, with the people I like, shut away.” And this is sin; the sin of the people of Israel, the sin of all of us. Closing ourselves off. “No, for me this is more important than that. No, what matters is mine.” Always mine. (…)
And along the journey of life, many times we will be faced with this choice, this option: either the gratuitous gift of the Lord—going to seek the Lord, meeting the Lord—or closing myself off in my own things, in my own interests. This is why the Lord, speaking of one of these forms of closure, said that it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. But there are good, holy rich people who are not attached to wealth. Yet most people are attached to wealth and become closed in on themselves. And because of this, they cannot understand what the celebration is. But they have the security of things they can touch. (…)
Let us think about this parable that the Lord gives us today. How is our life going? What do I prefer? To always accept the Lord’s invitation, or to close myself off in my own things, in my own little concerns? And let us ask the Lord for the grace to always accept the invitation to go to His feast, which is freely given.
(Pope Francis, Homily, Mass at Casa Santa Marta, 5 November 2019)
Gospel and Word of the Day – 3 November 2026 –
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
2:5-11
Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and, found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
From the Gospel according to Luke
14:15-24
One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”
He replied to him,
“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
Faced with that openness, that universality of the celebration, there is that attitude that closes the heart: “I’m not going. I’d rather be by myself, with the people I like, shut away.” And this is sin; the sin of the people of Israel, the sin of all of us. Closing ourselves off. “No, for me this is more important than that. No, what matters is mine.” Always mine. (…)
And along the journey of life, many times we will be faced with this choice, this option: either the gratuitous gift of the Lord—going to seek the Lord, meeting the Lord—or closing myself off in my own things, in my own interests. This is why the Lord, speaking of one of these forms of closure, said that it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. But there are good, holy rich people who are not attached to wealth. Yet most people are attached to wealth and become closed in on themselves. And because of this, they cannot understand what the celebration is. But they have the security of things they can touch. (…)
Let us think about this parable that the Lord gives us today. How is our life going? What do I prefer? To always accept the Lord’s invitation, or to close myself off in my own things, in my own little concerns? And let us ask the Lord for the grace to always accept the invitation to go to His feast, which is freely given.
(Pope Francis, Homily, Mass at Casa Santa Marta, 5 November 2019)
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
2:5-11
Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and, found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
From the Gospel according to Luke
14:15-24
One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”
He replied to him,
“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
Faced with that openness, that universality of the celebration, there is that attitude that closes the heart: “I’m not going. I’d rather be by myself, with the people I like, shut away.” And this is sin; the sin of the people of Israel, the sin of all of us. Closing ourselves off. “No, for me this is more important than that. No, what matters is mine.” Always mine. (…)
And along the journey of life, many times we will be faced with this choice, this option: either the gratuitous gift of the Lord—going to seek the Lord, meeting the Lord—or closing myself off in my own things, in my own interests. This is why the Lord, speaking of one of these forms of closure, said that it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. But there are good, holy rich people who are not attached to wealth. Yet most people are attached to wealth and become closed in on themselves. And because of this, they cannot understand what the celebration is. But they have the security of things they can touch. (…)
Let us think about this parable that the Lord gives us today. How is our life going? What do I prefer? To always accept the Lord’s invitation, or to close myself off in my own things, in my own little concerns? And let us ask the Lord for the grace to always accept the invitation to go to His feast, which is freely given.
(Pope Francis, Homily, Mass at Casa Santa Marta, 5 November 2019)