Year C
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
Explore this week's readings and hear what God is saying to us through His Word.
Find out more about how we can mark this special day in our liturgy.
See our music recommendations for the liturgy.
The readings for today invite us to trust in God‘s ways. As we hear from the letter to the Hebrews: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. If we have that faith, then we need not be afraid.
The short section from the Book of Wisdom, recalls the night of deliverance, when the Jewish people were liberated from Egyptian slavery. They had placed their lives in God’s hands, and their trust was justified. What they had hoped for, what they had believed in came about. Their trust in God was justified. (Note from Henry Wansbrough: Most first readings relate to the gospel reading; however, this reading prepares for the second reading, which is a meditation on the journey of God’s People.)
The author of Hebrews reminds his readers that Abraham placed his life in the hands of God, believing that God would lead him to a new land where he would become the ancestor of countless believers. This short extract recounts other acts of faith which emphasised Abraham's implicit faith, the faith that justified him.
The Gospel, set within the context of Jesus on the road to Jerusalem, is his instruction to the disciples about possessions, about being prepared or watchful for the Lord’s return, and about responsible leadership.
The first instruction is a warning not to be attached to possessions: a danger against which Luke, writing to a prosperous audience, continually warns;
The second instruction stresses the importance of being prepared for the Lord’s return, whenever that may be: note he himself will serve them (overtones of the Last Supper and washing of feet?);
The third instruction offers the disciples a warning about how to use or not use the authority they have been given (a salutary warning for us, Jesus' followers, especially those in leadership positions, whether lay or clerical!).
Themes:
- trust in God (how?);
- faithfulness to God (how is that lived out in our contemporary world?);
- use of authority. Note: if authority is rooted in ‘being authentic' and genuine 'authenticity' then shouldn’t our trust in, and faithfulness to God, make us authentic? Or turn it around: to be ‘authentic' (and therefore 'be invested' in authority) demands trust in and faithfulness to God.
To note:
International Youth Day is on the 12th August (Tuesday). It was designated by the United Nations in 1999 to draw attention to issues affecting young people and to celebrate their contributions to society. Each year has a specific theme focusing on different aspects of youth development. 2025 theme: “Youth Empowerment for a Sustainable Future”. This theme highlights the vital role of today’s young people in driving sustainability, innovation, environmental stewardship, and social equity.
Feast of the Assumption of our Blessed Lady on Friday, 15th August.
The readings for today are all about waiting attentively as did the people in the reading from Wisdom. They were waiting for something that God would bring about. They were waiting in faith as the Letter to the Hebrews emphasises.
Throughout the week we are waiting, or we ought to be, for that moment when something important happens. It is or should be in many ways the most important moment in our week when the Church, the Body of Christ meets around the Lord’s Table to hear the Word and to share the banquet the Lord prepares for us.
Being alert and ready to meet the Lord in our Christian community, in the Word to which we listen and in the Eucharist that we share and which makes of us the Body of Christ strengthens us in faith so that we are more able to follow the Lord’s injunctions. Maybe we can’t just get rid of our worldly possessions but how much do we share them with others who are more need? Being alert to Christ’s presence in these ways will help us be more alert to his presence in our daily lives, ready not perhaps to wash his feet but to serve him any a million other ways.
Perhaps all this could be alluded to in the words of welcome at the beginning of Mass. The president might say how much he has been looking forward to seeing everyone and ask the people if they have thought about this and how this ought to be the moment we most look forward to each week.
Perhaps on this Sunday special effort might be made to emphasise the role of welcomers and to appeal for more and to remind everyone to welcome their neighbours in the next seat.
Try to seem excited at being the one who gathers the People of God together!
These hymns have been chosen from the Laudate hymnbook
All people that on earth do dwell 466
Our God reigns 768
Love divine, all loves excelling 801
Guide me, O thou great Redeemer 960
Soul of my saviour 938
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
