Daily Catholic Mass Readings for October 30, 2017
First Reading: Romans 8.11-17
11But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead lives within you, then he who raised up Jesus Christ from the dead shall also enliven your mortal bodies, by means of his Spirit living within you12Therefore, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, so as to live according to the flesh13For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if, by the Spirit, you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live14For all those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God15And you have not received, again, a spirit of servitude in fear, but you have received the Spirit of the adoption of sons, in whom we cry out: "Abba, Father!16For the Spirit himself renders testimony to our spirit that we are the sons of God17But if we are sons, then we are also heirs: certainly heirs of God, but also co-heirs with Christ, yet in such a way that, if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him
Psalm 68
1Unto the end. A Canticle Psalm of David himself. May God rise up, and may his enemies be scattered, and may those who hate him flee from before his face2Just as smoke vanishes, so may they vanish. Just as wax flows away before the face of fire, so may sinners pass away before the face of God3And so, let the just feast, and let them exult in the sight of God and be delighted in gladness4Sing to God, sing a psalm to his name. Make a path for him, who ascends over the west. The Lord is his name. Exult in his sight; they will be stirred up before his face5the father of orphans and the judge of widows. God is in his holy place6It is God who makes men dwell in a house under one custom. He leads out those who are strongly bound, and similarly, those who exasperate, who dwell in sepulchers7O God, when you departed in the sight of your people, when you passed through the desert8the earth was moved, for the heavens rained down before the face of the God of Sinai, before the face of the God of Israel9You will set aside for your inheritance, O God, a willing rain. And though it was weak, truly, you have made it perfect10Your animals will dwell in it. O God, in your sweetness, you have provided for the poor11The Lord will give the word to evangelizers, along with great virtue12The King of virtue is beloved among the beloved. And the beauty of the house will divide spoils13If you take your rest in the midst of the clergy, you will be like a dove whose wings are covered with fine silver and edged with pale gold14When heaven discerns kings to be over her, they will be whitened with the snows of Zalmon15The mountain of God is a fat mountain, a dense mountain, a thick mountain16So then, why are you distrustful of dense mountains? The mountain on which God is well pleased to dwell, even there, the Lord will dwell until the end17The chariot of God is ten thousand fold: thousands rejoice. The Lord is with them in Sinai, in the holy place18You have ascended on high; you have taken captivity captive. You have accepted gifts among men. For even those who do not believe dwell with the Lord God19Blessed is the Lord, day after day. The God of our salvation will make our journey prosper for us20Our God is the God who will bring about our salvation, and our Lord is the Lord who has brought an end to death21So then, truly, God will break the heads of his enemies, the hairy skull of those who wander around in their offenses22The Lord said: I will turn them away from Bashan, I will turn them into the depths of the sea23so that your feet may be soaked in the blood of your enemies, so that the tongue of your dogs may be soaked with the same24O God, they have seen your arrival, the arrival of my God, of my king who is in a holy place25The leaders went ahead, united with the singers of psalms, in the midst of girls playing on timbrels26In the churches, bless the Lord God from the fountains of Israel27In that place, Benjamin is a youth in ecstasy of mind. The leaders of Judah are their governors: the leaders of Zebulun, the leaders of Naphtali28Command by your virtue, O God. Confirm in this place, O God, what you have wrought in us29Before your temple in Jerusalem, kings will offer gifts to you30Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds, a congregation of bulls with the cows of the people, for they seek to exclude those who have been tested like silver. Scatter the nations that are pleased by wars31Ambassadors will come out of Egypt. Ethiopia will offer in advance her hands to God32Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. Sing psalms to the Lord. Sing psalms to God33He ascends, up to the heaven of the heavens, toward the east. Behold, he will utter his voice, the voice of virtue34Give glory to God beyond Israel. His magnificence and his virtue is in the clouds35God is wonderful in his saints. The God of Israel himself will give virtue and strength to his people. Blessed is God
Gospel: Luke 13.10-17
10Now he was teaching in their synagogue on the Sabbaths11And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. And she was bent over; and she was unable to look upwards at all12And when Jesus saw her, he called her to himself, and he said to her, "Woman, you are released from your infirmity.13And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was straightened, and she glorified God14Then, as a result, the ruler of the synagogue became angry that Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, and he said to the crowd: "There are six days on which you ought to work. Therefore, come and be cured on those, and not on the day of the Sabbath.15Then the Lord said to him in response: "You hypocrites! Does not each one of you, on the Sabbath, release his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it to water16So then, should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for lo these eighteen years, be released from this restraint on the day of the Sabbath?17And as he was saying these things, all his adversaries were ashamed. And all the people rejoiced in everything that was being done gloriously by him
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the transformative power of the Spirit of God and the freedom it brings. In the first reading from Romans, St. Paul reminds us that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within us, making us children of God. This Spirit calls us to live not according to the flesh, which leads to death, but to mortify the deeds of the flesh and embrace the life of the Spirit. As sons and daughters of God, we are heirs of his glory, but this also means sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that we may be glorified with him.
In the Gospel, Jesus encounters a woman who has been bent over for eighteen years, a vivid image of spiritual and physical bondage. Jesus, moved by compassion, heals her on the Sabbath, sparking controversy with the synagogue ruler. Jesus defends his action by pointing out the hypocrisy of rigidly observing the Sabbath while neglecting the freedom and healing that God’s Spirit offers. The woman, a daughter of Abraham, is freed from her infirmity, and the crowd rejoices at the glory of God revealed in her healing.
Together, these readings remind us that the Spirit of God brings life, freedom, and healing. We are called to live as children of God, open to the Spirit’s work in us and through us. Like the woman in the Gospel, we must allow Jesus to set us free from the burdens that weigh us down, whether they are physical, emotional, or spiritual. Let us not be bound by fear or rigid traditions, but instead, embrace the Spirit’s transformative power and live as heirs of God’s glory.