The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to to invest in growing our faith as the path to riches in fullness of life.
The Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans treats our Inheritance through Faith.
* [4:1–25] This is an expanded treatment of the significance of Abraham’s faith, which Paul discusses in Gal 3:6–18; see notes there
* [4:20] He did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief: any doubts Abraham might have had were resolved in commitment to God’s promise. Heb 11:8–12 emphasizes the faith of Abraham and Sarah. (Romans, CHAPTER 4, n.d.)
The Response from the Gospel of Luke is The Canticle of Zechariah.
* [1:68–79] Like the canticle of Mary (Lk 1:46–55) the canticle of Zechariah is only loosely connected with its context. Apart from Lk 1:76–77, the hymn in speaking of a horn for our salvation (Lk 1:69) and the daybreak from on high (Lk 1:78) applies more closely to Jesus and his work than to John. Again like Mary’s canticle, it is largely composed of phrases taken from the Greek Old Testament and may have been a Jewish Christian hymn of praise that Luke adapted to fit the present context by inserting Lk 1:76–77 to give Zechariah’s reply to the question asked in Lk 1:66.
* [1:69] A horn for our salvation: the horn is a common Old Testament figure for strength (Ps 18:3; 75:5–6; 89:18; 112:9; 148:14). This description is applied to God in Ps 18:3 and is here transferred to Jesus. The connection of the phrase with the house of David gives the title messianic overtones and may indicate an allusion to a phrase in Hannah’s song of praise (1 Sm 2:10), “the horn of his anointed.” (Luke, CHAPTER 1 |USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shares the Parable of the Rich Fool.
* [12:13–34] Luke has joined together sayings contrasting those whose focus and trust in life is on material possessions, symbolized here by the rich fool of the parable (Lk 12:16–21), with those who recognize their complete dependence on God (Lk 12:21), those whose radical detachment from material possessions symbolizes their heavenly treasure (Lk 12:33–34).
* [12:21] Rich in what matters to God: literally, “rich for God.” (Luke, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)
Candice Tucci, OSF, comments that saving for what is needed is responsible stewardship. On the other hand, hoarding is not.
For what we have beyond our needs, a little comfort or entertainment is good for body and soul. However, this does not, as Christians, free us, nor society, nor government, from sharing with those who are in need and provide for healthy living.
Scripture gives us riches and wealth to consider how we are living our lives, both in material wealth and spiritual treasure. Catholic Social Teaching and the Beatitudes, Mathew 5: 3-12, are foundational to living our lives as is this one Gospel passage for today.
How much is stored in barns? What’s in the piggy bank? What is an understanding of good stewardship, especially as citizens? What are personal and societal priorities? Ignorance and greed? Love and compassion?
Mutually with the help of God, our creator, we can restore and mend our broken world. (Tucci, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Surrounded by wealth, blind to charity,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"'What does the rich man do, surrounded by a great supply of many blessings beyond all numbering? In distress and anxiety, he speaks the words of poverty. He says, 'What should I do?' ... He does not look to the future. He does not raise his eyes to God. He does not count it worth his while to gain for the mind those treasures that are above in heaven. He does not cherish love for the poor or desire the esteem it gains. He does not sympathize with suffering. It gives him no pain nor awakens his pity. Still more irrational, he settles for himself the length of his life, as if he would also reap this from the ground. He says, 'I will say to myself, "Self, you have goods laid up for many years. Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself." 'O rich man,' one may say, "You have storehouses for your fruits, but where will you receive your many years? By the decree of God, your life is shortened." 'God,' it tells us, 'said to him, "You fool, this night they will require of you your soul. Whose will these things be that you have prepared?" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 89) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 4:20-25 comments that it helps to have models of faith like Abraham to encourage us as we strive to hold fast to God’s promises.
How about you? Jesus has promised you eternal life. He has promised that he will never abandon you. He has promised that you can live as his son or daughter here and now. These promises are solid, faithful, and true. Abraham was fully convinced. Daudi and Jildo were fully convinced. So take courage! When you read about heroes like these, you can almost taste heaven!
“Lord, strengthen my faith as I recall the saints and martyrs who have gone before me!” (Meditation on Romans 4:20-25, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that Paul uses the Abraham story to speak about righteousness or peace with God as opposed to the Pharisees' scrupulosity. We trust in the goodness of God as an example is Jesus teaching that if we truly have this faith we will be righteous. Abraham did try to “hedge his bets” so his faith had to grow over time culminating in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac. In Luke’s Gospel, someone asks Jesus to arbitrate like the Jewish rabbis but Jesus warns us not to give in to greed in His parable, where the rich man died. We have to trust in Providence in our generosity and avoid making our possessions into idols. Friar Jude reminds us that we can only take love with us!
Fr. Mike Schmitz focuses on the theme of disciplining children, reflected in our readings from Sirach and Proverbs today. He clarifies that there is a crucial difference between discipline and destruction, and emphasizes that disciplining children should always be grounded in love and oriented towards their success in the future. Today's readings 1 Maccabees 12, Sirach 30-31, and Proverbs 23:13-16.
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Director of the Center for Spiritual Imagination Adam Bucko who describes how practices of contemplation have evolved and enlivened the Christian faith.
Contemplation, then, is not a separate path or a unique calling. It is Christianity itself, lived with depth and honesty. It is the heart of the Christian tradition, stretching from Jesus to the desert to today. And as our understanding of the human person has deepened—through psychology, neuroscience, and trauma studies—we are invited to add new tools, not because the tradition was wrong, but because it was formed in a different time, with less knowledge of how we carry and transmit pain. These new tools help us to heal, to stay present, and to love more freely.
In the end, contemplation is not about escaping life but entering it more fully. It is how we listen for God in the silence—and how we hear God in the cries of the poor, the groaning of creation, and the joy of being alive. It is how we remember what’s good and live from that place for the sake of the world. (Rohr, n.d.)
We are aided by the Spirit as we reflect on the role of the themes in Catholic Social Teaching to shape our action as disciples of Christ.
References
Luke, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/12?13
Luke, CHAPTER 1 |USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved October 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?69
Meditation on Romans 4:20-25. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved October 20, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/10/20/1410739/
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 20, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/contemplation-is-christianity/
Romans, CHAPTER 4. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/4?20
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Storing up True Riches. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 20, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
Tucci, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved October 20, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-october-20-2025
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