MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL FOR 16 OCTOBER
October 16, 2025
FEAST OF ST IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH – 17th OCTOBER
October 17, 2025
TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
16 OCTOBER, 2025
Luke 11:47-54
The Lord said:
“Woe to you who build
the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness
and give consent to the deeds
of your ancestors,
for they killed them and
you do the building.
Therefore,
the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order
that this generation might be charged with the blood of all
the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left,
the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD!
REFLECTION
In this passage, Jesus denounces the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who build tombs for the prophets while their hearts share in the same murderous spirit that killed them. Their outward show of honor cannot hide their inward rebellion against God’s truth. By rejecting Jesus, they repeat the sins of their ancestors, proving that religious observance without repentance leads only to spiritual blindness. Jesus’ words remind us that honoring God’s messengers means listening to their message and living it out, not merely venerating their memory.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see where I might resist Your truth under the guise of righteousness. Help me to receive Your word with humility and to live it with courage. Keep me from empty religiosity and fill me with a heart that seeks Your will above all else. May my life honor the prophets and witnesses of faith by walking faithfully in Your light. Amen
