Take Five for Faith
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Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow - a day at a time. Look up the daily passages from the New American Bible online at www.usccb.org/nab/bible. |
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME; PRIESTHOOD SUNDAY
In good hands
You may remember “The Beautiful Hands of a Priest,” an old-fashioned poem that places the priest on an impossible pedestal from which we have seen many fall. The humanity of the priest is obvious in the terrible sins of some, yet being human is not synonymous with sinfulness. The humanity we share with Christ is all that any of us has—ordained or not—with which to work out our baptism. Rather than idealizing the priest’s hands or the man himself, think of him standing at the head of the communion line seeing holiness in the eyes and hands of each communicant: “The body of Christ . . . must have been working in the garden before Mass . . . smells of playground sweat . . . must be six months pregnant . . . is still grieving his wife . . . has a son in Afghanistan . . . tries hard to hide her Parkinson’s . . . has more faith than I . . . .”
TODAY'S READINGS: Wisdom 11:22-12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10
"You are merciful to all . . . and you overlook people’s sins."
DOMINGO, 31 DE OCTUBRE DE 2010
TRIGÉSIMO PRIMER DOMINGO EN TIEMPO ORDINARIO; DOMINGO DE SACERDOCIO
En buenas manos
Puede que recuerdes “Las Hermosas Manos de un Sacerdote,” un poema antiguo que pone al sacerdote en un pedestal imposible desde el cual hemos visto caer a muchos. La humanidad del sacerdote es obvia en los pecados terribles de algunos, aunque ser humano no es sinónimo de pecaminosidad. La humanidad que compartimos con Cristo es todo lo que cualquiera de nosotros tiene—ordenados o no—con la cual trabajamos nuestro bautismo. En vez de idealizar las manos de un sacerdote o el hombre mismo, piensa en él de pie a la cabeza de la línea comunal viendo la santidad en los ojos y las manos de cada comunicante: “El cuerpo de Cristo . . . debe haber estado trabajando en el jardín antes de misa . . . huele a sudor del campo . . . debe tener seis meses de embarazo . . . todavía se aflige por la muerte de su esposa . . . tiene un hijo en Afganistán . . . intenta difícilmente esconder su mal de Parkinson . . . tiene más fe que yo . . . .”
LECTURAS DE HOY: Sabiduría 11:22-12:2; 2 Tesalonicenses 1:11-2:2; Lucas 19:1-10
"Eres misericordioso para con todos . . . y pasa por alto los pecados de la gente."
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1
SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS
The mystery of being a saint revealed!
In a departure from his usual objects of reflection, historian and theologian Martin Marty wrote a book called The Mystery of the Child. In it he asserts that children are not problems to be solved but rather mysteries to behold. In fact, he concludes, every human being is an unfathomable mystery. Each of us carries within us the light of Christ, and what we shall become has not yet been revealed. It’s enough to make one pause in awesome wonder. The novelist George Eliot observed: “It’s never too late to become the person you were always meant to be.” Who were we meant to be? Saints, of course! What does it mean to you to live a holy life?
TODAY'S READINGS: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a
"Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed."
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2
THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED
Trust in God’s promise
One thing is certain: There’s a finality to death. Whatever one believes about an afterlife, death changes things forever. A person who was with us is now gone; we will never again relate to them in quite the same way. We feel as if an unfillable hole has been created in our lives. Faith does not restore the dead to us in the physical sense, but it does tell us there are promises associated with the mystery of death. God takes the dead “to himself,” as the Book of Wisdom says. God does not forget those who die in Christ; they will share in the fullness of his eternal life. That’s a promise we can trust.
TODAY'S READINGS: Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11 or 6:3-9; John 6:37-40
"The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God."
WEDNESDAY, NOBEMBER 3
FEAST OF MARTIN DE PORRES, RELIGIOUS
Bridge the divide
Martin de Porres of 16th-century Lima, Peru was a Dominican lay brother who cared tirelessly for those on the margins of society. Apparently he knew a thing or two himself about being marginalized. As the illegitimate son of a Spanish settler and a former slave from Panama, Martin was turned out of his home for having dark skin. He became patron saint of mixed-race people and those seeking interracial harmony. A more appropriate saint could not be found for our own racially divided society. Make sure the story of Martin de Porres is known in your own faith community. It is time we elevated those who rose above division. We are all God’s children.
TODAY'S READINGS: Philippians 2:12-18; Luke 14:25-33
"Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4
FEAST OF CHARLES BORROMEO, BISHOP
Know yourself and preach as you live
If there is an overarching theme in the life of Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) it must be that the rigorous pursuit of book knowledge be balanced and tempered by self-knowledge. Charles was a tireless bishop who helped reconvene the Council of Trent, founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) for the religious instruction of children, and established seminaries and schools for the poor—all in the service of an orderly, consistent, and disciplined education in the Catholic faith. Yet for all his obvious brilliance, he was noted for his humility, which only comes from profound self-knowledge. It was the key to his effectiveness as a leader. He wrote: “Be sure that you first preach by the way you live.”
TODAY'S READINGS: Philippians 3:3-8a; Luke 15:1-10
"Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ."
FRIDAY, NOBEMBER 5
Hold yourself accountable—others will
Those entrusted with managing the wealth of others have been cutting corners and engaging in trickery since well before the time of Jesus and his story of the wily steward. Great wealth brings with it great temptation, but a lot of very clever people fail to realize the simple truth that integrity, once sold off, is very hard to regain. It requires genuine remorse and a willingness to make amends. If there are any questionable dealings in your own life, today would be a good day to make amends and settle accounts.
TODAY'S READINGS: Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 16:1-8
"Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer."
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6
FEAST OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Help others to help themselves
Each year in early November the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) recognizes a young leader who has shown exemplary commitment to serving the poor and eradicating poverty. The award is named after Cardinal Joseph Bernardin (1928-1996), who helped realize the U.S. bishops’ vision for the CCHD and gather widespread support for its mission. Helping the most vulnerable and needy in our society develop skills, gather resources, and fight injustices that block them from self-sufficiency is a fundamental Catholic social teaching. Learn more about Catholic social teaching at www.usccb.org/cchd/ or at the U.S. bishops’ new campus website for Catholic social teaching: www.usccb.org/campus/.
TODAY'S READINGS: Philippians 4:10-19; Luke 16:9-15
"I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient."
Contributors: Father Paul Boudreau, Daniel Grippo, Father Larry Janowski, O.F.M., Ann O’Connor, Joel Schorn, Patrice J. Tuohy, and Sister Julie Vieira, I.H.M.
©2010 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. PHONE: 800-942-2811; E-MAIL: [email protected]; WEBSITE: www.takefiveforfaith.com. Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
