MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL FOR 10 SEPTEMBER
September 10, 2025
FEAST OF SAINT PAPHNUTIUS – 11th SEPTEMBER
September 11, 2025
TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
10 SEPTEMBER, 2025
Luke 6:20-26
✠ Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward
will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD!
REFLECTION
In this powerful teaching of Jesus on the “Sermon on the Plain,” He turns worldly values upside down. The “blesseds” are not those who thrive now, but those who are struggling—poor, hungry, mourning, or rejected—because in their humility and suffering they are drawn into God’s healing and future fulfillment. Conversely, those who are comfortably wealthy or well-regarded now may risk complacency and miss the deeper call to spiritual growth and reliance on God.
Jesus invites us to look beyond outward success and comfort toward an upside-down Kingdom, where vulnerability opens the way to divine blessings.
PRAYER
Loving God, help me to embrace your upside-down Kingdom, valuing humility over recognition, compassion over success, and faith over comfort. Teach me to see your blessings in places of need and vulnerability. May I find my true reward—not in earthly consolation—but in your enduring presence and love. Amen
