Twenty Ninth Sunday of the Year

 Twenty Ninth Sunday of the Year, October 18, 2026 

Mission Sunday

Isaiah 45:1, 4-6   1 Thessalonians 1:1-5   Matthew 22:15-21

(Image courtesy: AI)

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.  Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.  When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.  Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. The cups are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.” 

This story invites us to examine our priorities. We often spend our lives trying to acquire better positions, greater recognition, and more impressive possessions, forgetting what truly gives life its meaning.

On this World Mission Sunday, the readings invite us to look beyond appearances and ask a deeper question: Are we living merely to improve our own lives, or are we allowing God to use our lives to bring His love to the world?

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks about Cyrus, the Persian king whom God chooses to accomplish His purpose. What is surprising is that Cyrus is not an Israelite. Yet God works through him to fulfil His plan for His people. The message is profound: God is not limited by our expectations, our boundaries, or our understanding of who is worthy to serve Him. He can work through unexpected people and unfamiliar paths to accomplish His mission. On Mission Sunday, this reminds us that God's mission is much greater than our institutions, communities, and personal preferences. The Church is missionary because God's love is meant to reach every nation and every person. Our task is not to restrict God's work but to become available instruments in His hands.

The second reading, from St Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians, shows us what happens when God's mission takes root in human lives. Paul praises the Thessalonians for their work of faith, labour of love, and steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ. Notice that their faith is not merely a set of beliefs. It becomes visible in their actions, their love, and their perseverance. This is the heart of missionary discipleship. Mission is not simply travelling to distant countries or preaching from a pulpit. It begins when faith becomes love in action, when hope sustains us through difficulties, and when our lives make Christ visible to others. A person may never cross an ocean to become a missionary, yet every act of forgiveness, every word of encouragement, and every gesture of solidarity can carry the Gospel into another person's life.

This brings us to the Gospel, where the Pharisees attempt to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus asks them to show Him the coin and then asks whose image and inscription it bears. When they answer, “Caesar's,” Jesus declares, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

Jesus does not merely settle an argument about taxation. He invites His listeners to reflect on what belongs to God. The coin bears Caesar's image, but every human person bears the image of God. Therefore, our deepest belonging is to God. Our talents, relationships, resources, time, and very lives are gifts entrusted to us. The question is not simply what we must give to God, but whether we are offering Him our lives through the way we live.

On World Mission Sunday, this teaching becomes especially meaningful. Mission is not an occasional activity added to our lives. It is a response to the God to whom we belong. We become missionaries when we allow our words, decisions, and relationships to reflect His image. We cannot proclaim a God of compassion while remaining indifferent to suffering, or speak of unity while creating divisions. Our lives must become the message we proclaim.

There are three important life messages for us today.

First, value what truly matters. Do not measure your worth by your position, possessions, or public recognition. Your real value lies in the person you are becoming and the love you share. 

Second, make your faith visible through love. Like the Thessalonians, let your faith express itself in service, your love in action, and your hope in perseverance. 

Third, offer your life to God's mission. You may not be called to distant lands, but you are called to make Christ present wherever you are, in your family, community, workplace, and society.

Let us return to the professor's story. Everyone wanted the coffee, but their attention was captured by the cups. In the same way, we can become so concerned about the outward containers of life that we forget its true purpose. Titles, possessions, achievements, and recognition are only temporary. What matters is the love of God that our lives carry and communicate to others.

This World Mission Sunday, let us ask ourselves: Am I concerned only with making my own cup more beautiful, or am I allowing God to fill my life with His love and share it with the world? God does not need the most impressive cup. He needs a willing heart. When we place our lives in His hands, even our ordinary words and small acts can become extraordinary instruments of His mission.

May we give to God what truly belongs to Him: our hearts, our gifts, and our lives, so that through us the world may encounter the love of Christ.

Happy Sunday 

Twenty Eighth Sunday of the Year (Year A)

 Twenty Eighth Sunday of the Year

October 11, 2026

Isaiah 25:6–10; Philippians 4:12–14, 19–20; Matthew 22:1–14

(Image Courtesy: AI)

One day, Mother Teresa found a dying man abandoned on the streets of Calcutta. He was weak, dirty, and covered with wounds. Nobody wanted to touch him. She brought him to the home for the dying, washed him, fed him, dressed his wounds, and stayed beside him. Before he died, the man expressed his gratitude for being treated with dignity and love. Mother Teresa had given him something more than physical care. She had given him a sense that he belonged.

That was one of the great things about Mother Teresa's life. She saw people whom society had forgotten and reminded them that they were still loved, still valuable, and still welcome. Her life helps us enter today's Gospel, because at the heart of these readings is a God who prepares a banquet, opens His table to everyone, and invites us to become people who make others feel welcome.

The first reading from Isaiah gives us a beautiful picture of God's dream for humanity. The prophet speaks of the Lord preparing a magnificent feast for all peoples, with rich food and fine wine. He promises to destroy the veil that covers humanity and to wipe away every tear.

Notice the words: “for all peoples.” God's banquet is not reserved for a privileged few. His invitation is universal. God desires to gather His children into communion with Him. His final word to humanity is not loneliness, fear, or death. It is fellowship, joy, and life.

This gives us the foundation for understanding the Gospel. Before Jesus tells us about the wedding banquet, Isaiah has already shown us the heart of the God who prepares it. God is not reluctant to welcome us. He is the One who prepares the table and sends the invitation.

But this raises an important question: If God has prepared such a generous banquet, how should we live while we wait for it?

That is where St Paul speaks to us in the second reading. Paul says that he has learned to live with abundance and with need, with plenty and with hunger. He has discovered that his deepest security does not depend on circumstances. His strength comes from Christ: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Paul's words show us how a person who trusts God's invitation learns to live. He is not controlled by what he has or what he lacks. He does not say, “I will be happy when I have more.” He has discovered that Christ is enough.

There is a beautiful connection here. Isaiah tells us that God prepares the banquet. Paul tells us that Christ gives us the strength to journey toward that banquet without being controlled by the ups and downs of life.

And now the Gospel tells us what our response to that invitation must be. Jesus speaks about a king who prepares a wedding banquet for his son. Everything is ready. The food is prepared. The celebration is waiting. The invitation has been sent. But the invited guests refuse to come.

Some are busy with their fields. Others are occupied with their businesses. They are not necessarily doing evil things. They are simply too occupied to recognize the value of the invitation. This is one of the most subtle dangers in spiritual life. We may not reject God. We may simply become too busy for Him.

Our work becomes important. Our responsibilities become important. Our ambitions become important. Our phones, entertainment, plans, and possessions become important. Slowly, without deliberately deciding it, we can push God to the margins of our lives. But the king does not give up. When the invited guests refuse, he sends his servants into the streets and says, “Invite everyone you find.” The doors of the banquet are opened wider.

Here we see the same vision that Isaiah proclaimed: God wants everyone at His table. The invitation reaches beyond the people who originally expected it. The poor, the forgotten, the outsiders, and those whom society may overlook are welcomed. But Jesus then introduces a surprising detail. The king finds one man without a wedding garment and asks how he entered without one.

This reminds us that accepting God's invitation is not merely about showing up. Grace must produce a change in us. The wedding garment represents the life that should follow from receiving God's grace. We cannot say, “I belong to Christ,” and remain completely unchanged. If we have accepted the invitation, our lives should gradually become different.

We should become more loving, more forgiving, more generous, more compassionate, and more concerned about others. And this brings us back to the three readings. Isaiah shows us the banquet God prepares. Paul shows us the strength Christ gives us to live faithfully. Jesus shows us the response He expects from those who accept the invitation. The movement is clear: God invites us, Christ strengthens us, and grace transforms us.

There are three important life messages for us today.

First, remember that you are invited. Never think that you are too weak, too sinful, or too unworthy for God. His invitation is wider than our sense of unworthiness.

Second, learn to live with Christ as your strength. Like Paul, remain faithful whether life gives you abundance or difficulty. Your circumstances may change, but Christ remains.

Third, allow God's grace to transform you. The wedding garment is the garment of love. If we truly accept God's invitation, it must become visible in the way we treat people, especially the poor, the forgotten, and those who cannot give us anything in return.

Let us return to Mother Teresa. The man she found on the street had been excluded from almost everything society considered valuable. Yet she saw what others had failed to see: a human being worthy of love and dignity. She did not merely speak about God's banquet. She made room for someone at the table. And this is where the Gospel becomes personal for us. It is not enough to ask, “Am I invited to God's banquet?” We must also ask, “Whom am I inviting?”

Who around us feels forgotten? Who has been excluded? Who needs forgiveness? Who needs someone to listen? Who needs a place where they can feel that they belong? Perhaps God's banquet begins in our own homes, communities, workplaces, and churches whenever we make room for another person.

The Lord has prepared the feast. Christ gives us the strength. Now He asks us to put on the garment of love and become people who open doors rather than close them. May we accept God's invitation with grateful hearts, allow His grace to transform our lives, and become, like Mother Teresa, people through whom the forgotten discover that they too have a place at God's table.

Happy Sunday