DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
OCTOBER 15, 2025
WEDNESDAY - MEMORIAL OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
FIRST READING
ROMANS 2:1-11 OR (ROMANS 8:22-27)
1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, whoever you are, when you judge another; for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who do such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 For he will render to every man according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 61(62):2-3, 6-7, 9 OR (PSALMS 19:8-11)
Response: Lord, thou give back to everyone according to his works.
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved.
R. Lord, thou give back to everyone according to his works.
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
R. Lord, thou give back to everyone according to his works.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
R. Lord, thou give back to everyone according to his works.
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GOSPEL
You load burdens hard to bear
LUKE 11:42-46 OR (JOHN 15:1-8)
42 "But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! for you love the best seat in the synagogues and salutations in the market places. 44 Woe to you! for you are like graves which are not seen, and men walk over them without knowing it." 45 One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying this you reproach us also." 46 And he said, "Woe to you lawyers also! for you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Binding heavy burdens on others, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"Just as the scribes and Pharisees wickedly sat upon the throne of Moses, so do some in the church who sit upon the ecclesiastical throne. There are some in the church who have the right understanding of the law and pass it on correctly. They say what each person needs to do, but they themselves do not do it. Some of them lay heavy burdens upon the shoulders of men, but they won't even lift a finger to help. These are the ones the Savior is talking about when he says, 'Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of God' (Matthew 5:19). There are others, however, who sit on the throne, who act before they speak and speak wisely, restraining those who are disordered. They place merciful burdens on the shoulders of others. They themselves are the first to lift the heavy burden, for the exhortation of other listeners. It is these of whom the Lord speaks when he says, 'He who does so and teaches others to do so, this man will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.'"
(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 9)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.