Loved into Life

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to apply the action indicated in the Great Commandment to reject the dryness and discrimination that diminishes our love of neighbour.

Love the neighbor who annoys us?

The Reading the Prophet Ezekiel shares a Vision of the Dry Bones.

* [37:1–14] This account is a figurative description of God’s creation of a new Israel. Even though that creation begins with the remains of the old Israel, the exiles under the image of dry bones, depicting a totally hopeless situation, the new Israel is radically different: it is an ideal people, shaped by God’s spirit to live the covenant faithfully, something the old Israel, exiles included, were unable to do. While this passage in its present context is not about the doctrine of individual or communal resurrection, many Jewish and Christian commentators suggest that the doctrine is foreshadowed here.

* [37:9] The Hebrew word rûah has multiple related meanings expressed by different English words: wind, spirit, breath. In this translation, rûah is rendered “spirit,” a powerful force that creates vision and insight (v. 1); “breath,” physical energy that quickens and enlivens (vv. 5–6); “wind,” invisible physical energy, sometimes destructive, sometimes invigorating (e.g., the rain-bearing winter winds), also a metaphor for restoration and new life (vv. 9–10); “my spirit,” a share in God’s power so the people observe the law that assures them life in the land (v. 14). (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 107 invites those who have been rescued by God to give praise.

* [Psalm 107] A hymn inviting those who have been rescued by God to give praise (Ps 107:1–3). Four archetypal divine rescues are described, each ending in thanksgiving: from the sterile desert (Ps 107:4–9), from imprisonment in gloom (Ps 107:10–16), from mortal illness (Ps 107:17–22), and from the angry sea (Ps 107:23–32). The number four connotes totality, all the possible varieties of rescue. (Psalms, PSALM 107 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus proclaims The Greatest Commandment.

* [22:34–40] The Marcan parallel (Mk 12:28–34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mk 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mk 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). Matthew has sharpened that scene. The questioner, as the representative of other Pharisees, tests Jesus by his question (Mt 22:34–35), and both his reaction to Jesus’ reply and Jesus’ commendation of him are lacking.

* [22:35] [A scholar of the law]: meaning “scribe.” Although this reading is supported by the vast majority of textual witnesses, it is the only time that the Greek word so translated occurs in Matthew. It is relatively frequent in Luke, and there is reason to think that it may have been added here by a copyist since it occurs in the Lucan parallel (Lk 10:25–28). Tested: see note on Mt 19:3.

* [22:36] For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus.

* [22:37–38] Cf. Dt 6:5. Matthew omits the first part of Mark’s fuller quotation (Mk 12:29; Dt 6:4–5), probably because he considered its monotheistic emphasis needless for his church. The love of God must engage the total person (heart, soul, mind).

* [22:39] Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him and joins to the greatest and the first commandment a second, that of love of neighbor, Lv 19:18; see note on Mt 19:18–19. This combination of the two commandments may already have been made in Judaism.

* [22:40] The double commandment is the source from which the whole law and the prophets are derived. (Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB, n.d.)

Carol Zuegner comments that we can love our neighbor as ourselves, but does that count the neighbor who annoys us?

Jesus would say yes to all of the above. Will we sometimes be irritated by those neighbors, colleagues, family members? Yes. We live in a world where paths cross, where what we want and like and see as the right direction may not be the wants and likes and direction of others. We can love the person and not particularly care for how the person reacts in the moment.

Saint Ignatius asks us to find God in all things. All things. Not just the people who agree with us or situations we control. We are all made in the image and likeness of God. That finding God in all things can be so difficult in a world filled with pain and suffering and so little peace. That makes it even more important that in our own corner and in our own way, we take a deep breath. We let our irritation slip away. We pray for peace here and now and everywhere. (Zuegher, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Loving God with heart, mind, and soul,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"Worthy is he, confirmed in all his gifts, who exults in the wisdom of God, having a heart full of the love of God, and a soul completely enlightened by the lamp of knowledge and a mind filled with the word of God. It follows then that all such gifts truly come from God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets are in some way a part of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets depend upon and adhere to the principle of the love of the Lord God and of neighbor and that the perfection of piety consists in love." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today in which the Prophet Ezekiel presents the vision of the dry bones in the plain. Ezekiel preaches and they come back to life. He is referring to the people of Israel and connecting the personal resurrection of the dead with the bones on the surface. The Zoroastrian death practice is to leave the bodies on the ground and on the final day they will rise from the dead using this idea of resurrection of the dead. The idea was beginning to take hold in Israel. Ezekiel came into contact with the Zoroastrian practice to learn more of what we are called to be. The Sadducees and Pharisees who are attacking Jesus ask about the greatest commandment. Friar Jude expresses the bottom line is love, horizontal to our neighbours and vertical, with God.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40 comments that the Catechism tells us, “One cannot honor another person without blessing God his Creator. One cannot adore God without loving all men, his creatures” (2069).

Every other commandment depends on these two (Matthew 22:40). Love of God is intricately tied up with our love of others, just as our love for our neighbor makes visible our love for God. That’s why we can rely on these two commandments to guide us when we are uncertain about how we should live.

So be sure to love God in prayer today—and love the people he will place in your life.

“Holy Spirit, show me how best to fulfill your command to love God and neighbor in all I say and do today.” (Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40, n.d.)

Father Richard Rohr finds in the prophets an invitation to follow their path of disrupting injustice. We must ask, Why has critical thinking always had to come from outside our religious systems and hardly been allowed from within? This is a major problem.

We have tried to reform religion with the same codes of violence and willpower used by corporations, monetary systems, landowners, and nation-states, often leaving the egos and self-interests of hierarchs quite in control. Further, we have a tendency to minimize evil, attacking it in individual “bad guys” instead of exposing and convicting the intergenerational lies that consume most cultures: things like pride, deceit, power, war, and greed.

This, more than any other reason, is why Christianity did little to reform or evolve the Roman, Holy Roman, Russian, French, Spanish, English, or American empires, but instead slept comfortably with every one of them. The evils that ate us alive were seldom called evil because the “priestly” groups were intent on enforcing ritual requirements and purity codes—in which Jesus and the prophets showed little or no interest. Once we lose the prophetic analysis, most evil will be denied, disguised, or hidden among the rules and rituals of religion and the law itself. This is how truth is “discerned” in a dualistic world: by winning the purity and identity contests. (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit as we open our hearts and minds to the power of love to overcome our privilege and prejudice that blocks our mission of love and care for all Jesus siblings.

References

Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/37?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22?34 

Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/08/21/1651581/ 

Psalms, PSALM 107 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/107? 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Engaging in Good Trouble. Engaging in Good Trouble. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/engaging-in-good-trouble/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). What Is the Greatest Rule of Life? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Zuegher, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflection August 21, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-21-2026 

Bluster and Blindness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to seriously examine empire building bluster in our community and political environment as an attempt to blind us to the need to be workers for love and justice in Jesus' vineyard.

Blinded by Bluster

The Reading from the First Book of Maccabees presents the beginning of Seleucid persecution from Alexander to Antiochus.

* [1:10] The one hundred and thirty-seventh year: Antiochus IV seized the throne in September, 175 B.C. Dates are given in this book according to the beginning of the Seleucid era, which however was reckoned in two different ways. Antiochians considered this date to be October, 312 B.C. (Syrian calendar), while Babylonians and Jewish priests accepted April, 311 B.C. as the commencement of the era (Temple calendar). The author of 1 Maccabees dates political events by the Syrian calendar but religious events by the Temple calendar. Accordingly, the civil New Year occurred variously in September or October, the religious New Year in March or April..

* [1:54] Fifteenth day of the month Kislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five: December 6, 167 B.C. Desolating abomination: in the original Hebrew, a contemptuous pun on the title “Lord of heaven” given to the god to whom an image or perhaps an altar was erected upon the altar of burnt offerings in the Temple of Jerusalem; cf. Dn 9:27; 11:31.

* [1:56] Scrolls of the law: one or more of the first five books of the Old Testament, the traditional law of Israel. (1 Maccabees, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 119 begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them.

* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. Several expected elements do not appear in the Psalm: Mount Sinai with its story of God’s revelation and gift to Israel of instruction and commandments, the Temple and other institutions related to revelation and laws (frequent in other Psalms). The Psalm is fascinated with God’s word directing and guiding human life. The poem is an acrostic; its twenty-two stanzas (of eight verses each) are in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight verses within a stanza begins with the same letter. Each verse contains one word for “instruction.” The translation here given attempts to translate each Hebrew word for “instruction” with the same English word. There are, however, nine words for “instruction,” not eight, so the principle of a different word for “instruction” in each verse cannot be maintained with perfect consistency. The nine words for “instruction” in the translation are: law, statute, commandment, precept, testimony, word, judgment, way, and promise. (Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke presents the Healing of the Blind Beggar.

* [18:38] Son of David: the blind beggar identifies Jesus with a title that is related to Jesus’ role as Messiah (see note on Lk 2:11). Through this Son of David, salvation comes to the blind man. Note the connection between salvation and house of David mentioned earlier in Zechariah’s canticle (Lk 1:69). See also note on Mt 9:27. (Luke, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB, n.d.)

Cindy Costanzo comments that this scripture, the Healing of the Blind Beggar, displays vulnerability, courage, dependence, trust, strength, and faith.

Jesus wants us to come to him in times of vulnerability and dependence. Jesus wants us to have courage and the strength to pray to him, to listen quietly, to sit in stillness, and bring our sorrows, joys, and requests. Jesus wants us to trust him. Jesus wants us to have faith. 

Be still right now, pray to Jesus asking him for what you need today, and have faith that it will be delivered. (Costanzo, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The blind man knows that Jesus is the Son of David and the Messiah,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"The blind man must have understood that the sight of the blind cannot be restored by human means but requires, on the contrary, a divine power and an authority such as God only possesses. With God nothing whatsoever is impossible. The blind man came near to him as to the omnipotent God. How then does he call him the Son of David? What can one answer to this? The following is perhaps the explanation. Since he was born and raised in Judaism, of course, the predictions contained in the law and the holy prophets concerning Christ had not escaped his knowledge. He heard them chant that passage in the book of the Psalms, 'The Lord has sworn in truth to David, and will not annul it, saying: "of the fruit of your loins I will set a king upon your throne"' (Psalm 132:11).

"The blind man also knew that the blessed prophet Isaiah said, 'There will spring up a shoot from the root of Jesse, and from his root a flower will grow up' (Isaiah 11:1). Isaiah also said, 'Behold, a virgin will conceive and bring forth a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us' (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14). He already believed that the Word, being God, of his own will had submitted to be born in the flesh of the holy Virgin. He now comes near to him as to God and says, 'Have mercy on me, Son of David.' Christ testifies that this was his state of mind in offering his petition. He said to him, 'Your faith has saved you.'"(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 126) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 18:35-43 asks, wouldn't it be wonderful to have experienced that miracle? We all have the same longing as the man in today’s Gospel: we want to see. Most of all—and even if we don’t recognize it—we want to see Jesus and follow where he leads.

Guess what? Jesus will be passing by you today! He will be there in prayer or at Mass, when you can call out to him in need and rejoice in signs of his love. He will be there, ready to give you his full attention. His healing presence will be close by as the Holy Spirit brings a new understanding of God’s love or an insight into his word that calms your troubled heart. He will be there in your fellow believers, who might share an encouraging—or challenging—word or who might offer to pray with you. And he will be there in those who are poor and neglected, who might bring you healing as you care for them and love them with the love of Christ.

So call out to Jesus today. Bring him your needs and your hopes and your dreams. Let him heal you and lead you in his ways.

“Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me! Lord, let me see you today!” (Meditation on Luke 18:35-43, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes that, in the Maccabees reading, we hear the rise of the Seleucid Empire that stretched from Turkey to Afghanistan. Emperor Antiochus IV's goal was to be proclaimed as a god and have uniformity in the empire. Some Jews in Jerusalem wanted to be like the Greeks with the gymnasium and sacrifice to gods. A rebellion broke out around 180 BCE against Seleucid oppression. In Luke, Jesus is on the way to Jericho and is interrupted by being addressed as “Jesus, Son of David”. The one who acknowledges Jesus is physically blind. Friar Jude urges that with our prayers we should be insistent. The blind man wanted to see and Jesus declares “You have been saved,” an indication of being healed both spiritually and physically.

Fr. Mike Schmitz highlights how Jesus didn't pray in order to get something from God, he prayed in order to be close to God. He also points to Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane as a perfect example of how we should pray with honesty and trust. Lastly, Fr. Mike provides insights on the significance of the walk to Emmaus and Jesus' last words on the cross. The readings are Luke 22:39-24:53 and Proverbs 26:20-23.

CAC faculty member Brian McLaren is concerned about the cost of our increasingly limited ability to see beyond our religious or political points of view. He describes how bias results when our worldviews become solidified.

People can’t see what they can’t see. 

We all, yes, even me—and more shockingly, even you, have a whole set of assumptions and limitations, prejudices and preferences, likes, dislikes and triggers, fears and conflicts of interest, blind spots and obsessions that keep us from seeing what we could and would see if we didn’t have them. 

We are almost always unconscious of these internal obstacles to seeing and understanding, which makes it even harder for us to address them. We are, you might say, blind to what blinds us. The name for these unconscious internal obstacles is bias. 

Bias makes us resist and reject messages we should accept and accept messages we should resist and reject. In short … we can’t see what we can’t see because our biases get in the way. (McLaren, n.d.)

We implore the Spirit to make us aware of the blindness in our opinions and actions that we need to seek healing from the “Son of David”.

References

Costanzo, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-november-17-2025 

Luke, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/18?35 

McLaren, B. (n.d.). Not as Rational as We Think. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/not-as-rational-as-we-think/ 

Meditation on Luke 18:35-43. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/11/17/1431063/ 

1 Maccabees, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/1?10 

Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119?53 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). What Do You Want Me to Do for You? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

The Spirit of Restoration

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today contrast the life we experience in the Spirit  with the consequence of our failure to accept restoration of our deficiencies.

Spirit in Life

 

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans describes Life in the Spirit. Psalm 24 is a song of Entrance into the Temple. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus parables are about repent or perish and the barren fig tree1

 

The Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries was not complete for this post. Don Schwager quotes “The Lord's three visits through the Patriarchs, Prophets, and the Gospel,”  by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"The Lord also has something very fitting to say about a fruitless tree, 'Look, it is now three years that I have been coming to it. Finding no fruit on it, I will cut it down, to stop it blocking up my field.' The gardener intercedes... This tree is the human race. The Lord visited this tree in the time of the patriarchs, as if for the first year. He visited it in the time of the law and the prophets, as if for the second year. Here we are now; with the gospel the third year has dawned. Now it is as though it should have been cut down, but the merciful one intercedes with the merciful one. He wanted to show how merciful he was, and so he stood up to himself with a plea for mercy. 'Let us leave it,' he says, 'this year too. Let us dig a ditch around it.' Manure is a sign of humility. 'Let us apply a load of manure; perhaps it may bear fruit.' Since it does bear fruit in one part, and in another part does not bear fruit, its Lord will come and divide it. What does that mean, 'divide it'? There are good people and bad people now in one company, as though constituting one body." (excerpt from Sermon 254.3)2

 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 8:1-11 comments that we must cooperate with the Spirit. That might mean making more room in our schedule for prayer or resisting certain patterns of sin. But the Holy Spirit does more than simply help us overcome sin. His power enables us to live a new way as well, a life of peace, patience, kindness, and all the other fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). He helps us to pray and discern God’s voice, both through Scripture and in the events of our day. He also helps us turn to God in times of temptation or stress, and fills us with a strength beyond our own.

Today, tell the Holy Spirit that you want to cooperate with his work in you. Pray often, “Come, Holy Spirit!” He may encourage you by periodically bringing to your mind how much God loves you or what Jesus has done for you. Thank him for that. The Spirit is in you to revive you when you feel weak or weary so that you can live a life of freedom that is pleasing to God. “Holy Spirit, help me to live a life that pleases God.”3

 

  Friar Jude Winkler shares insight about the readings today.

 

Richard Rohr, OFM, comments on the systemic evils in our culture. Life in the Spirit is an opportunity to seek a mindfulness about our reality that draws us to God.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102321.cfm
2	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2021&date=oct23
3	(n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/10/23/229750/