Celebration: Ferial
Table of the Word
First Reading: Romans 3:21–30
Gospel: Luke 11:47–54
Theme: Truth That Frees the Soul.
Reflection
St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, declares one of the most liberating truths of the Christian faith: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23–24)
Here, Paul dismantles every ground for self-righteousness. Salvation is not achieved by the works of the Law but received through faith in Jesus Christ. It is grace, pure, unearned, and transformative. This grace restores our relationship with God, making us new creatures in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17).
In the Gospel, Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for building tombs for the prophets their ancestors killed, pretending to honor them while repeating the same hardness of heart. He exposes a dangerous hypocrisy: honoring truth in word while resisting it in action. The Lord warns that the rejection of truth leads to spiritual blindness and ultimately to judgment.
The message today calls us to authenticity of faith, to live in the truth that God reveals, not merely to profess it with our lips. Faith without integrity is a façade; but faith rooted in grace transforms life from within.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1992) on the other way round teaches that: “Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.”
Hence, justification is not a legal pardon alone; it is the beginning of a new way of living — in justice, mercy, and truth.
The Church Fathers remind us that truth and grace are inseparable, as St. Augustine writes, “Grace is given not because we have done good works, but so that we may be able to do them.” Grace, therefore, enables what law alone cannot accomplish.
The warning of Jesus against hypocrisy also speaks to the Church and each believer today: we are not called to admire the saints from a distance but to imitate their faith. To build tombs for the prophets while ignoring their message is to silence the very Word that gives life.
Beloved in Christ, today we are beibg exhorted to live by grace, not by pride. Recognize that every virtue, every victory, is a fruit of God’s mercy, not our merit. Also, to embrace the truth courageously. Let the Word of God expose falsehood within and around you.
Finly, let us know that: “Grace does not flatter; it frees. It calls us to truth and in that truth, to holiness.”
+ Peace be with you.
© ARCHIVE 16102025
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