Msgr. Roger J. Landry

National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies

Daily Reflection for August 31, 2025

Here is the video of today’s reflection.

The Youtube generated transcript for today’s reflection is:

I’m Monsignor Roger Landry, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies coming to you from a Manhattan rooftop. Today, Sunday, August 31st, Jesus gives us a parable about two different banquets that teach us essential lessons about how to live our life. First banquet, he says, when you’re invited over to somebody’s house, don’t take the place of honor just in case there’s a dignitary who’s come in, you’re asked to move instead, take the lowest place so that he’ll come over to you and say, “Ascende Superius Amiche”, “my friend, come higher.”

He says because the ones who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Are we humble enough to recognize how lucky we are just to be invited over, especially, for example, when we’re invited to mass?

Second great image that he gives us is of our own throwing banquets, and he says, don’t do what everybody else does. Who invites relatives and family members and wealthy and influential people who might be able to reward us somehow? He says, when you throw a banquet, do so by inviting the blind, the poor, the crippled, the lame, how blessed you’ll be by their inability to do a quid pro quo with you.

He wants us to care about those whom the world doesn’t basically care about, and not just to say hi to them, but to invite them to a meal to share their life with them, literally to become companions with them companions breaking bread. This is what missionaries try to do throughout the entire world.

They go to the world in doing very humble service in order to bring people to the banquet that Christ Himself is throwing here on Earth, which is the banquet of his word, the banquet of the word made flesh the Holy Eucharist. And ultimately through that banquet to the eternal wedding banquet in which the Lord Jesus wants to be able to say to each of us friend, come up higher, come up to my father’s house in which we.

Who so often are spiritually poor blind, that we can’t walk by faith crippled in lame, that we don’t follow in Jesus’ footsteps, that Jesus has invited us, purified us, healed us, so that we in our resurrected body, fully healed, may be able with all the saints to praise and glorify God forever. This is the church’s mission to invite everybody to this banquet.

May God help us to be humble enough to take up our missionary role and to support the missionaries all across the globe who are filling out that table. God bless you.

GOSPEL

Luke 14:1 7-14

The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based was:

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine

at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,

and the people there were observing him carefully.

He told a parable to those who had been invited,

noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,

do not recline at table in the place of honor.

A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,

and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,

‘Give your place to this man,’

and then you would proceed with embarrassment

to take the lowest place.

Rather, when you are invited,

go and take the lowest place

so that when the host comes to you he may say,

‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’

Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.

For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,

but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Then he said to the host who invited him,

“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,

do not invite your friends or your brothers

or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,

in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.

Rather, when you hold a banquet,

invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;

blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.

For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The post Daily Reflection for the Pontifical Mission Societies, August 31, 2025 appeared first on Catholic Preaching.