A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
6:10-20
Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God,
that you may be able to resist on the evil day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.
With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me,
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.
From the Gospel according to Luke
13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
What must I defend myself against? What must I do? “Put on the armour of God”, Paul tells us; that is, what belongs to God defends us, so that we may resist the devil’s wiles. (…) But this generation – and so many others – has been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil. But the devil exists and we must fight against him. Paul says so, not me! The Word of God says so. But we are not entirely convinced. And then Paul describes what this armour of God is like, what the various parts are that make up this great armour of God. And he says: “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth”. This is part of God’s armour: the truth. (…) The Christian life is a struggle, a beautiful struggle, because when the Lord triumphs at every stage of our lives, He gives us joy, great happiness: that joy that the Lord has brought about in us, through His freely-give gift of salvation. But yes, we are all a bit lazy, aren’t we, in the struggle, and we let ourselves be carried away by passion, by certain temptations. It is because we are all sinners! But do not lose heart. Take courage and be strong, for the Lord is with us. (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 30 October 2014)
Gospel and Word of the Day – 29 October 2026 –
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
6:10-20
Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God,
that you may be able to resist on the evil day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.
With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me,
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.
From the Gospel according to Luke
13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
What must I defend myself against? What must I do? “Put on the armour of God”, Paul tells us; that is, what belongs to God defends us, so that we may resist the devil’s wiles. (…) But this generation – and so many others – has been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil. But the devil exists and we must fight against him. Paul says so, not me! The Word of God says so. But we are not entirely convinced. And then Paul describes what this armour of God is like, what the various parts are that make up this great armour of God. And he says: “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth”. This is part of God’s armour: the truth. (…) The Christian life is a struggle, a beautiful struggle, because when the Lord triumphs at every stage of our lives, He gives us joy, great happiness: that joy that the Lord has brought about in us, through His freely-give gift of salvation. But yes, we are all a bit lazy, aren’t we, in the struggle, and we let ourselves be carried away by passion, by certain temptations. It is because we are all sinners! But do not lose heart. Take courage and be strong, for the Lord is with us. (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 30 October 2014)
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
6:10-20
Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God,
that you may be able to resist on the evil day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.
With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me,
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.
From the Gospel according to Luke
13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
What must I defend myself against? What must I do? “Put on the armour of God”, Paul tells us; that is, what belongs to God defends us, so that we may resist the devil’s wiles. (…) But this generation – and so many others – has been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil. But the devil exists and we must fight against him. Paul says so, not me! The Word of God says so. But we are not entirely convinced. And then Paul describes what this armour of God is like, what the various parts are that make up this great armour of God. And he says: “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth”. This is part of God’s armour: the truth. (…) The Christian life is a struggle, a beautiful struggle, because when the Lord triumphs at every stage of our lives, He gives us joy, great happiness: that joy that the Lord has brought about in us, through His freely-give gift of salvation. But yes, we are all a bit lazy, aren’t we, in the struggle, and we let ourselves be carried away by passion, by certain temptations. It is because we are all sinners! But do not lose heart. Take courage and be strong, for the Lord is with us. (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 30 October 2014)