The daily Word of God
Sunday, October 19th, 2025
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 18:1-8 "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
First Reading: Exodus 17:8-13
In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.
Moses, therefore, said to Joshua,
"Pick out certain men,
and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle.
I will be standing on top of the hill
with the staff of God in my hand."
So Joshua did as Moses told him:
he engaged Amalek in battle
after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.
As long as Moses kept his hands raised up,
Israel had the better of the fight,
but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better of the fight.
Moses' hands, however, grew tired;
so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.
Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands,
one on one side and one on the other,
so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R./ Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R./ Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
R./ Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
R./ Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
R./ Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Second Reading Introduction: Proclaim The Word Inspired By The Spirit
Hold on to God and his message, says St. Paul to Timothy, and share it with others. For this message is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Beloved:
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed,
because you know from whom you learned it,
and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures,
which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.
Gospel Introduction: Pray Continually And Never Lose Heart
God's justice and love are greater than that of people. He will hear the prayers of those who cry out to him with trust and perseverance.
Gospel Reading: Luke 18:1-8
Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Dear brothers and sisters, peace and all good.
Throughout this past week, the readings have been speaking to us about prayer. From the Our Father to the parable of the persistent friend, God’s Word has reminded us of the need to pray always—with trust—knowing that God takes care of us, even if He doesn’t respond exactly as we would like or as quickly as we wish.
It seems clear: we have to pray without losing heart. Jesus tells us this, and so does the first reading. In the Old Testament, many peoples believed that their gods fought alongside them when they went into battle honoring them. We know that’s not how things work—but we can still learn something from that first reading: if you want to achieve something that’s beyond your own strength, pray without ceasing.
Because there are results that can only come through prayer. We see that in the story from Exodus. The Hebrews were fighting the hated Amalekites, and as long as Moses kept his arms raised, they prevailed. But when he lowered them, they began to lose ground. That happens to us too. There are enemies that won’t let us live in peace—passions and weaknesses that can take over our lives. If we drop our arms for even a moment, the enemy gains the upper hand. And then we’re lost. We must keep our arms raised to God until sunset—until the end of our lives—without getting tired.
In the second reading, Paul continues teaching Timothy. Today, the Apostle reminds him of the values that must be at the heart of his life. Just as in Paul’s time, everything around us changes so fast that it’s hard to find solid points of reference. In a world full of relativism, we Christians have the Sacred Scriptures as the lighthouse and light that guide our lives.
Against passing trends and shifting opinions, the Word of God—because it is inspired—remains “useful for teaching, for refuting error, for correcting, and for training in righteousness.” It’s a true treasure we’ve received, and one that we are called, in conscience, to share with everyone. And we must do so, as Paul says, “in season and out of season,” because it would be selfish to keep such a gift just for ourselves. That also means we need to spend time reading and knowing Scripture so that we can speak about it.
As I said at the beginning, today’s readings invite us to pray without losing heart. This doesn’t mean we can force God’s hand—things don’t work that way. We can’t oblige the Lord to act. So we might ask: if we pray and don’t get an answer, what’s the point? Why doesn’t God always respond right away to our petitions? Why should we keep praying even when we don’t see results?
In a world that prizes speed and efficiency, the Gospel invites us to enter a different rhythm—the rhythm of God.
In this Sunday’s parable, Jesus speaks of a judge who doesn’t fear God or care about people, and who fails in his duty to protect the poor. In contrast, there’s a widow—a defenseless woman in a society where widows had almost no rights—who keeps coming to him, insisting that he grant her justice. With no resources or influence, her only option is to keep insisting, again and again.
We can see a parallel between her situation and ours. Evil seems to win, and God doesn’t seem to intervene. What can we do? Pray. Persevere. Because prayer is what keeps us from losing our minds amid confusion and hardship. But it’s not easy.
To “pray always” doesn’t mean just repeating set prayers—though those help—but entering into the kind of prayer Jesus had with His Father: a constant dialogue to seek and understand His will. It’s about a regular conversation that helps us look at reality and life’s events through God’s eyes. It helps us shape our thoughts, plans, and reactions according to His plan. Like Jesus, we should pause before making important decisions and ask God what He wants from us.
So today we receive an invitation for the whole community: not to reduce our Christian life to devotions, rituals, or ceremonies alone, but to give greater importance—day by day—to studying and meditating on the Word of God, and to having a personal and frequent relationship with Him.
The Word, prayer, and the sacraments—those special moments of encounter with God—are the means He has given us to maintain a constant dialogue with Him and with the world, especially with the poor and those in need. When we live out these three dimensions—the Word, prayer, and the sacraments—God will never end up locked away in the safe of our hearts, hidden from others. Jesus wants to give Himself to everyone, forever. That’s why He left us His Word, His life, and His Body, given for all eternity.
Whoever truly wants to follow Christ must have a heart large enough to hold all humanity, and a life so connected with God that, through everything they do, a window to heaven opens so others may discover Christ.
We also need to trust God’s timing. When we pray the Our Father, we say, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We must not forget these two dimensions—heaven and earth—where God is always at work for our good, even when, at times, it may not seem that way to us.
This Sunday, October 19, the Church celebrates World Mission Sunday (known as DOMUND in Spanish), organized by the Pontifical Mission Societies. It’s a day when the universal Church prays especially for missionaries and supports mission work throughout the world. It’s celebrated on the next-to-last Sunday of October, the “month of the missions.”
This year’s theme is “Missionaries of Hope Among the Peoples.” In his message for this day, Pope Francis reminds each Christian—and the whole Church, as a community of baptized believers—of our fundamental calling to be messengers and builders of hope.
This vocation needs the support of the whole Church. How? There are three ways to cooperate in the mission: personally, spiritually, and materially. It’s not just about helping the mission—it’s about being part of it. Each of us, in our own way and according to our means.
Your brother in faith,
Alejandro Carbajo, C.M.F.Greetings
The Lord will guard you from evil;
he will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and coming.
May the Lord be always with you.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant (three options)
A. Prayer: The Breath Of Life
Do we put our very life in our prayer or are we reciting formulas, even though we agree with their contents? If we could only express in prayer what we live, cry out our miseries and shout our joys, persist in praying, not giving up, insisting, against all odds, because our faith is against all odds and because our very life depends on it, as does the life of justice and love in the world. In this Eucharist we join our prayers to those of Jesus our Lord.
B. Prayer: Conversing With God
In a personal relationship with a person, you speak to him or her, to thank, to tell how you feel about the other or yourself, and about things and persons. Once in a while you ask for a favor or you offer your help and encouragement. In our relationship with the Lord prayer is doing all these things. If we love him, we cannot keep silent. Let us ask Jesus again in this Eucharist: "Lord, teach us to pray."
C. Love Of The Bible
We are witnessing with joy in our day how people come together to hear and read the Good News of the Bible. They seek in its message the meaning of their lives. Though written in the past, the Bible still deals with God's love present among us now. What has Jesus to say to us today about the reason why we live, about the great questions of life and death? Let Jesus' words stir us and move us to share in his life.
Penitential Act (three options)
A. Prayer: The Breath Of Life
Where were our trust and our persistence
when we turned to the Lord in prayer?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, with you we pray
that the Father's will be done, not ours.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, with you we pray
that justice be done to everyone:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, with you we pray
that those who do evil to us may be forgiven.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and hear our prayer for forgiveness.
Guard us from all evil
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
B. Prayer: Conversing With God
We wish that we were closer to the Lord
and could talk to him as a friend to a friend.
Let us ask forgiveness
for not having spoken more to him.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you often speak to us
in your word, in the Church, in people,
and we do not answer you:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you have given us the task
of bringing the needs of all people before you,
but too often we think only of our own concerns:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you tell us
that we need to pray constantly
and never to give up;
but sometimes we tire and give up:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
We pray you for mercy and forgiveness, Lord.
Be kind to us and patient with us sinners;
give us the joy of your pardon
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
C. Love Of The Bible
Do we listen to the Word of God
and let God speak to us?
Does its power change us?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord,
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you are God's living Word
who speak to us today:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, your words are spirit and life:
you have the words of everlasting life:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, your word is truth;
make us holy in the truth:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
forgive us our sins
and let us see our life in the light of your words.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer (two options)
A. Prayer: The Breath Of Life
B. Prayer: Conversing With God
Let us pray for the gift
of perseverance in prayer
(pause)
Lord our God,
we know that you are our loving Father,
that you wait for us
and that you are attentive to us
every moment of our lives.
Let then our prayer come to you
as a cry of trust
coming straight from the poverty of our hearts.
If you have to turn us down
when we ask for harmful or useless things,
give us what we really need
and keep our trust alive
that you are good and loving,
for you are our Father
in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
C. Love Of The Bible
Let us pray to God our Father
that we may love to hear the Word he speaks to us
(pause)
God our Father,
you keep speaking to us today
in the words and deeds that bind us to you.
Make us listen attentively to your Son,
that his Good News may change us
with its message of faith, hope, and love.
Let it bring us wisdom in our confusion,
encouragement in our trials,
guidance and strength to follow your Son
on his way through death to life.
May we respond to his words
with deeds of justice and love,
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction: In The Name Of The Lord
In this strange story, which the liturgy uses to stress perseverance in prayer, Moses raises his staff in the name of the Lord and leads his people to victory.
General Intercessions
Let us listen to the invitation of our Lord to pray insistently, without giving up. Let us ask him to bring our prayers before our Father in heaven, and let us say: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
• For the Church today, that the Church may see clearly how to keep the faith alive in the hearts of its members and how to deal with the problems facing it in today's world, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
• For those in the Church to whom special ministries are entrusted, that they may be men and women of prayer, mindful of the Lord's words, "without me you can do nothing," Let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
• For contemplative monks and nuns, that we may appreciate their life of prayer and penance and be grateful to them for the Lord's blessings which they obtain for us, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
• For all who know or seek God, that they may enter into a dialogue with God by praying from the heart. Let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
• For all Christians, that our prayers for the poor and the suffering may commit us more to bringing them justice, to lightening their burdens and restoring their dignity, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
• For all of us here, that we may learn to pray without giving up for whatever is good and in accordance with God's will, and that this Eucharist may bring us and the world closer to God, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are our hope and assurance that the Father will hear us. For you are his Son and our brother, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you cannot resist our prayer
if we have full trust in you.
Let the Holy Spirit, here among us
prompt us to pray trustingly and insistently.
Let him cry out in our hearts
to call you "Father,"
together with him
who offers himself and us to you,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With one heart and one mind and in union with Jesus our Lord, let us offer our thanksgiving to the Father.
Invitation to the Lord's Prayer
Let us pray now to our Father
the model of all prayers,
which Jesus himself taught us:
R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from all evil
and grant us the peace
that flows from justice as from a river.
Help us to give to everyone his or her due
and, like you, to pay special attention
to the victims of injustice.
Let us bring fresh hope to them
as we prepare for the full coming among us
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
He taught us to pray continually,
without ever losing heart.
He now invites us to receive him
and to share in his offering to the Father.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
with Jesus we have raised our hands
in prayer to you, our living God.
With Jesus we keep trusting in you.
Hear us then, even in our pains and struggles,
when we are disappointed and grope in the dark.
For we believe that you love us
and want us to find happiness
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing (two options)
A. Prayer: The Breath Of Life
B. Prayer: Conversing With God
This Eucharist has been for us
a strong reminder
that persevering, trusting prayer
must necessarily be a prayer of concern
for the weak and the poor,
and that concern must express itself
in bringing them justice.
May the Lord give you this strength and bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go to love and serve the Lord
in the people around us. R/ Thanks be to God.
C. Love Of The Bible
Our words come and go and are soon forgotten.
God's Word remains: it is faithful.
May we learn to become more familiar with it
and to treasure it deeply.
Perhaps then it will do what it was meant to do:
to make us new, to give us the mentality of Jesus
and to make us live like him.
May God strengthen you by his Word and bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace
and take God's Word to heart.R/ Thanks be to God.
