Daily Mass Readings – Monday, 25 October 2027

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

13 For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.

14 For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father).

16 For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God.

17 And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.

R. (21a) Our God is the God of salvation.

2 Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: and let them that hate him flee from before his face.

4 And let the just feast, and rejoice before God: and be delighted with gladness.

R. Our God is the God of salvation.

6 Who is the father of orphans, and the judge of widows. God in his holy place:

7 God who maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house: Who bringeth out them that were bound in strength; in like manner them that provoke, that dwell in sepulchres.

R. Our God is the God of salvation.

20 Blessed be the Lord day by day: the God of our salvation will make our journey prosperous to us.

21 Our God is the God of salvation: and of the Lord, of the Lord are the issues from death.

R. Our God is the God of salvation.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

17b, 17a Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.

10 And he was teaching in their synagogue on their sabbath.

11 And behold there was a woman, who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years: and she was bowed together, neither could she look upwards at all.

12 Whom when Jesus saw, he called her unto him, and said to her: Woman, thou art delivered from thy infirmity.

13 And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

14 And the ruler of the synagogue (being angry that Jesus had healed on the sabbath) answering, said to the multitude: Six days there are wherein you ought to work. In them therefore come, and be healed; and not on the sabbath day.

15 And the Lord answering him, said: Ye hypocrites, doth not every one of you, on the sabbath day, loose his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead them to water?

16 And ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

17 And when he said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the things that were gloriously done by him.

God’s salvation is a liberation that restores us to the dignity of children. The woman in the synagogue had been bent down for eighteen years, unable to look upward. Jesus sees her, calls her forward, touches her, and sets her free. His compassion reveals that no religious observance can be rightly understood as an obstacle to mercy. The Sabbath itself becomes a place where God’s daughter is released from her bondage and can glorify him.

Saint Paul shows where this freedom leads. Those who are led by the Spirit are no longer held in slavery to fear or to the deeds of the flesh; they have received the Spirit of adoption and can cry, “Abba, Father.” This freedom is real, though it includes sharing in Christ’s suffering as we journey toward glory. God remains the Father of the vulnerable and the God who brings captives out. His word is truth, and that truth consecrates us for a life shaped by mercy. We should therefore allow Christ to straighten what has become bent within us, and refuse to keep others confined by judgment when he desires to set them free.

Father, God of our salvation, send your Holy Spirit to lead us in the freedom of your children. Free us from fear, selfish desires, and every bond that keeps us from looking toward you. Give us the compassion of Jesus, so that we recognize the dignity of those who suffer and never place our rules above mercy. Strengthen us to remain faithful when discipleship involves sacrifice, trusting that we are heirs with Christ. Heal what is bent within us, teach us to cry out to you with confidence, and make our lives a cause for your praise. Amen.