Daily Catholic Mass Readings for October 29, 2023
First Reading: Exodus 22.21-27
21"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.22"Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.23If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.24My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.25"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.26If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset,27because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Psalm 18
1I love you, O LORD, my strength.2The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.3I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.4The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.5The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.6In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.7The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.8Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.9He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.10He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.11He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him- the dark rain clouds of the sky.12Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.13The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.14He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.15The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.16He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.17He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.18They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.19He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.20The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.21For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.22All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.23I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.24The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.25To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,26to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.27You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.28You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.29With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.30As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.31For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?32It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.33He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.34He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.35You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.36You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.37I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.38I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.39You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.40You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them- to the LORD, but he did not answer.42I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets.43You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me.44As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.45They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.46The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!47He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,48who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.49Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.50He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1.5c-10
5because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.6You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.7And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.8The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia--your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,9for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Gospel: Matthew 22.34-40
34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"37Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'38This is the first and greatest commandment.39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Sermon
The readings today remind us of the heart of God’s law and the transformative power of living according to His will. In the first reading from Exodus, we hear God’s clear command to care for the vulnerable—newcomers, widows, orphans, and the poor. This is not merely a suggestion but a divine mandate rooted in Israel’s own experience of oppression in Egypt. God, who is compassionate and hears the cries of the afflicted, demands that His people reflect His mercy in their treatment of others. The second reading from 1 Thessalonians shows us what this looks like in practice. The early Christians in Thessalonica, though persecuted, embraced the Gospel with joy and became a model of faith for others. Their conversion from idolatry to the living God was not just a change in belief but a radical transformation in how they lived, inspiring others to follow their example.
In the Gospel, Jesus distills the entire law into two commandments: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. These are not separate commands but intertwined expressions of the same love. To love God is to love those He loves, and to love our neighbors is to reflect God’s love in the world. The Pharisees, trying to test Jesus, instead receive a profound truth that cuts through legalism and gets to the heart of what it means to follow God. Today’s readings, therefore, call us to examine how we are living out these two great commandments in our daily lives.
As we reflect on these readings, let us ask ourselves: Are we treating others with the same compassion God has shown us? Are we living in a way that inspires others to know and love God? The Good News is that God’s love is not just a command but a gift that transforms us. When we love as God loves, we become instruments of His mercy and grace in a world that desperately needs it. Let us strive to be like the Thessalonians, whose faith and joy in the midst of trials became a light to others. By living out the two great commandments, we not only fulfill the law but also become the face of God’s love to a world in need.