Daily Mass Readings – Thursday, 12 October 2028

1 O senseless Galatians, who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been set forth, crucified among you?

2 This only would I learn of you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3 Are you so foolish, that, whereas you began in the Spirit, you would now be made perfect by the flesh?

4 Have you suffered so great things in vain? If it be yet in vain.

5 He therefore who giveth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you; doth he do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of the faith?

R. (68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

70 As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:

71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

72 To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

73 The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,

74 That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,

75 In holiness and justice before him, all our days.

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

14b Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

5 And he said to them: Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and shall say to him: Friend, lend me three loaves,

6 Because a friend of mine is come off his journey to me, and I have not what to set before him.

7 And he from within should answer, and say: Trouble me not, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

8 Yet if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, although he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend; yet, because of his importunity, he will rise, and give him as many as he needeth.

9 And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.

10 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

11 And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion?

13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?

Paul confronts the Galatians with a question that reaches every disciple: did they receive the Spirit through their own achievement, or by hearing and trusting in faith? Having begun in the Spirit, they were tempted to seek completion through human effort. The Gospel gives this same truth a practical shape. Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock, assuring us that the Father gives good gifts, above all the Holy Spirit, to those who ask.

Faith is therefore a continual openness to God’s gift. We do not manufacture holiness by our own strength, nor can we treat grace as something earned and then set aside. We return again and again to the Father, trusting his mercy and persevering in prayer, even when the door seems closed. The psalm praises God who remembers his covenant and comes to save his people, so that they may serve him without fear in holiness and justice. The Spirit received through faith makes that service possible. In prayer today, we can bring God the places where effort has replaced trust, and ask him to renew in us a listening heart and the courage to keep knocking.

Father in heaven, you are faithful to your covenant and rich in mercy. Keep me from relying on my own strength as though your grace were unnecessary. Teach me to listen to your Son, to ask with confidence, and to persevere when I do not yet see an answer. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon me, renew what has grown weak, and make me ready to serve you without fear. May your Spirit form in me holiness, justice, and trust, so that my life may show gratitude for the salvation you freely give. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.