Daily Mass Readings – Sunday, 25 October 2026

20 Thou shalt not molest a stranger, nor afflict him: for yourselves also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

21 You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan.

22 If you hurt them they will cry out to me, and I will hear their cry:

23 And my rage shall be enkindled, and I will strike you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

24 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor, that dwelleth with thee, thou shalt not be hard upon them as an extortioner, nor oppress them with usuries.

25 If thou take of thy neighbour a garment in pledge, thou shalt give it him again before sunset.

26 For that same is the only thing wherewith he is covered, the clothing of his body, neither hath he any other to sleep in: if he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.

R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.

2 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength:

3ab The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

3cd My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support.

4 Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

47 The Lord liveth, and blessed be my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted:

51 Giving great deliverance to his king, and shewing mercy to David his anointed: and to his seed for ever.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

5c As you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes.

6 And you became followers of us, and of the Lord; receiving the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

7 So that you were made a pattern to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia.

8 For from you was spread abroad the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia, and in Achaia, but also in every place, your faith which is towards God, is gone forth, so that we need not to speak any thing.

9 For they themselves relate of us, what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God.

10 And to wait for his Son from heaven (whom he raised up from the dead,) Jesus, who hath delivered us from the wrath to come.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

23 Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

34 But the Pharisees hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, came together:

35 And one of them, a doctor of the law, asking him, tempting him:

36 Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.

38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.

39 And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.

Jesus brings the whole law into focus: love of God with our entire being and love of our neighbor as ourselves. These loves cannot be separated. The Lord, who is our strength, hears the cry of the stranger, the widow, the orphan, and the poor, and he commands his people to remember their own experience of being strangers. Love therefore becomes concrete: refusing to exploit the vulnerable, returning what another needs for dignity and shelter, and treating the suffering with compassion.

The Christians in Thessalonica received the word amid tribulation, yet their joy in the Holy Spirit made their faith visible and caused the word of the Lord to spread. Their example shows that love is also a witness. When we turn from false securities to serve the living God, his word changes how we use our power, possessions, and attention. Keeping Christ’s word may require sacrifice, but it gives a strength deeper than self-protection. A simple act of mercy, especially toward someone easily overlooked, can reveal that our love for God is becoming real.

Lord my God, you are my strength, refuge, and deliverer. Give me a heart that loves you with my whole being and recognizes your presence in the vulnerable and forgotten. Keep me from using another person’s need for my advantage. Teach me to remember compassion when I have power, possessions, or influence, and give me courage to serve with generosity. When faith brings difficulty, sustain me with the joy of the Holy Spirit. May the way I treat others make the living and true God known, as I await Jesus, your risen Son. Amen.