Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for November 5, 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 on November 5th from the Jesuit cemetery in Auriesville, New York. As we continue to pray for all our faithful departed who’ve gone before us marked with the firm sign of faith, I am before the grave of one of the great American theologians of our history, Cardinal Avery Dulles, a great Jesuit who taught at Fordham University for many years. I knew him personally. He was a great disciple of the Lord Jesus, son of the secretary of state John Foster Dulles, great convert during his years at Harvard college in such a way that is led to a lot of controversy because there were so many conversions happening there at Harvard from a very apostolic Jesuit who was there. Today in the Gospel Jesus talks to us about what it requires to be his disciple. He says,” None of us can really follow him unless we’re able to hate, and that means knock into second place. Hate our father, mother, children, lands, whatever we have to prioritize him. We’re not capable of being his disciple unless we can make him number one.” That’s what Avery Dulles did when he was an undergrad. And that’s what he continued to do. We’re not capable of being his follower unless we pick up our cross and follow him. We’re all going to have many crosses as did Cardinal Dulles, especially in his academic career. We can’t do so unless we renounce all our possessions. And he as a Jesuit took a vow of poverty. That doesn’t mean we can’t use our possessions for good. But it does mean that they don’t own us. That we use everything that God has given for his glory. And then he uses two parables Jesus does to describe the importance of being logical and are following him. He says, “Which of you trying to build a tower doesn’t assess whether he’s got the resources in order to finish the job? We have to have the bricks. We have to have the workmen. We have to have the money. Otherwise, we don’t start.” And then he said, “Which one of you going into war? Don’t assess whether you can win the war. That you’ve got enough troops in order to defeat someone coming upon you with more troops. Do you have better training? Do you have better strategy etc.? Jesus wants us to be just as calculating we can say in the exercise of our faith. Are we willing to follow him all the way to do what he says to love him more than all our other loved ones? To love him on the cross when he tells us to deny ourselves and pick up our cross every day and follow him. To love him way more than our stuff and to use all that he’s given including our talents as Cardinal Dulles did for him and for his glory. These are the choices that missionaries make. They do love the Lord more than they love their own country. And they go to far away countries, they love their own family because they’re making God’s family. That they take on the various crosses and the sacrifices that are necessary with a joyful spirit. And they use all that God’s given them in order to help others come to know him and love him. Today at Cardinal Dulles’s grave, in this month in which we continue to pray for our faithful departed, let’s ask the Lord Jesus to give us the courage in this month in which we likewise pray for us to become saints as God is holy. For us to make the choices that the great missionaries have done, that Cardinal Dulles and these Jesuits buried around us have done, and that the Lord is hoping we will make. God bless you all. All From The Pontifical Mission Societies in the U.S.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based on:
Gospel
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”