Daily Readings - Thu Oct 16 2025
Romans
21But now, without the law, the justice of God, to which the law and the prophets have testified, has been made manifest22And the justice of God, through the faith of Jesus Christ, is in all those and over all those who believe in him. For there is no distinction23For all have sinned and all are in need of the glory of God24We have been justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus25whom God has offered as a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to reveal his justice for the remission of the former offenses26and by the forbearance of God, to reveal his justice in this time, so that he himself might be both the Just One and the Justifier of anyone who is of the faith of Jesus Christ27So then, where is your self-exaltation? It is excluded. Through what law? That of works? No, but rather through the law of faith28For we judge a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law29Is God of the Jews only and not also of the Gentiles? On the contrary, of the Gentiles also30For One is the God who justifies circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through faith
Luke
47Woe to you, who build the tombs of the prophets, while it is your fathers who killed them48Clearly, you are testifying that you consent to the actions of your fathers, because even though they killed them, you build their sepulchers49Because of this also, the wisdom of God said: I will send to them Prophets and Apostles, and some of these they will kill or persecute50so that the blood of all the Prophets, which has been shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation51from the blood of Abel, even to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. So I say to you: it will be required of this generation52Woe to you, experts in the law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves do not enter, and those who were entering, you would have prohibited.53Then, while he was saying these things to them, the Pharisees and the experts in the law began to insist strongly that he restrain his mouth about many things54And waiting to ambush him, they sought something from his mouth that they might seize upon, in order to accuse him
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the relationship between faith, justice, and hypocrisy. In the first reading from Romans, St. Paul explains that God’s justice is revealed not through the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. He emphasizes that all people—Jews and Gentiles alike—have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but we are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption found in Christ. Paul makes it clear that this justification comes not through works of the law but through faith, and he challenges us to humility, recognizing that salvation is a gift, not something we can earn.
In the Gospel, Jesus addresses the Pharisees, criticizing their hypocrisy. While they honor the prophets by building tombs, they fail to live according to the prophets’ teachings. Jesus points out that they are complicit in the sins of their ancestors, who persecuted and killed the prophets. He also condemns their legalism, accusing them of taking away the key of knowledge and preventing others from entering the Kingdom of God. This passage serves as a warning against outward religiosity that lacks inner conversion and genuine faith.
Together, these readings remind us that true faith is not about outward appearances or following rules, but about a deep, interior transformation. We are called to live with integrity, aligning our actions with our beliefs, and avoiding the hypocrisy of honoring God with our lips while neglecting to follow Him with our hearts. Let us examine our own lives today: Are we living as true disciples of Christ, or are we content with superficial religiosity? May we turn to God with humble and sincere hearts, trusting in His grace and striving to live in a way that reflects the justice and love He has revealed to us.