Beads of Joy Blog II (2025 - 2026)

October 30   Healing on the Sabbath Image created by Google AI Image Creator. Today’s Gospel: Luke 14:1-6 (Healing on the Sabbath) Healing of the Man with Dropsy on the Sabbath. On a sabbath he went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” But they kept silent; so, he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. Then he said to them, “Who among you, if your son so, ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” But they were unable to answer his question. Reflection: Paul’s letter to the Philippians bursts with thanks: every time he thinks of them, he thanks God, and his prayers for them are full of joy! He is grateful for their partnership in the Gospel from the very first day. And he...

  October 29 Jesus' Sorrow For Jerusalem Today’s Gospel: Luke 13:31-35 (Jesus' Sorrow For Jerusalem) “At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, `Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.' O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'" Reflection: Jesus knew exactly what was waiting for Him in Jerusalem: that He would be rejected and betrayed an...

  October 28   Feast of Saints Simon & Jude Apostles Image created using Google AI Image Creator. Today’s Gospel: Luke 6:12-16 (The Twelve Apostles) “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” Reflection: Paul says we are no longer strangers and aliens but fellow citizens and members of God’s household! That household is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. Each of us is a stone in a growing temple where God lives. What a beautiful thing to be: a living stone! Today we celebrate two ...

October 27 The Kingdom of God Image created using Google AI Image Creator. Today’s Gospel: Luke 13:18-21 (The Kingdom of God) “He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." And again, he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." Reflection: Mustard seeds and leaven can sound like an odd way for Jesus to describe the kingdom of God, but both of them start out so small you could easily overlook them and then quietly grow into something much bigger than anyone expected, which is exactly how our love for God tends to work in our own hearts. It often begins with nothing more than a little curiosity about who Jesus is, and that curiosity pulls us towar...

October 26 Freed From Your Infirmity Image created using Google AI Image Creator. Today’s Gospel: Luke 13:10-17 (Freed From Your Infirmity) “Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound f...

October 25   The Greatest Commandment Image created using Google AI Image Creator. Today’s Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40 (The Greatest Commandment) “But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." Reflection: Which is the greatest commandment? Why did they ask this? Because love needs to be brought into the light, and when they tried to trap Jesus with that very question, He didn’t hand him a long list of rules. He gave him two commands: love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as you love yourself...

October 24   The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree Image created by Google AI Image Creator. Today’s Gospel: Luke 13:1-9 (Parable of the Barren Fig Tree) A Call to Repentance. At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found ...

October 23     Preparing for the Storm Today’s Gospel: Luke 12:54-59 (Preparing For The Storm) “He also said to the multitudes, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, `A shower is coming'; and so, it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper." Reflection: If you lived where floods or wildfires hit, you’d heed the warning. You’d pack the car and go. There wouldn’t be a debate. Jesus says we read th...

October 22   Love God First Today’s Gospel: Luke 12:49-53 (Love God First and Foremost) “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." Reflection: Who do you love more than anyone in the whole world? God. Of course! Jesus wants first place in your heart, and He’s worth it. When He talks about fire upon the earth, He’s not trying to scare us. He’s getting our attention. Our choices matter. When we put God first, everything else falls into place. When we p...