Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for October 1, 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 our chapel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Today, October 1st is the feast of the little flower St. Thérèse of Lisieux of the child Jesus and the holy faith. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, co-patronist of the missions. She discovered that her vocation was to be love in the heart of the church, her mother. And that is in essence all of our vocation one way or the other to receive God’s love to live in his love and to share that love.
Today in the gospel we accompanying Jesus find three different vocation stories and it shows us the failure to love in three places so that we can learn from what they got wrong. The first one comes up to Jesus and says I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus says, “The birds of the year have nests. The foxes have den, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” In other words, count the cost. You’re going to basically be homeless with me.
Are you ready for it? We don’t know the man’s response. But we anticipate that the response of Jesus scared him away. The second Jesus turns to him. He says, “You follow me.” And the young man says, “I will follow you, but first let me go bury my father.” And there’s no indication that his father had just died. In Jewish culture, that would mean he was buried that day or the day after. It was my dad comes before you. Whether it’s three, four, five decades down the road, once he’s dead, then I will follow you. And Jesus responses, let the dead bury the dead. He had come to give us life to the full by entering into a relationship with him. And if we’re not really in relationship with him, we’re walking cadavers.
Third uh says, “I want to follow you, but first let me go say farewell to my family.” Jesus says, “Someone who set his hands to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.” Rather than focusing on what you’re saying bye to or what you’re losing, you’ve got to be focused on what you’re gaining in the road ahead. That doesn’t mean we can’t say bye and I love you to our family members, but it does mean we have to put Jesus in his proper place. St. Thérèse was someone who clearly did. When she got a sense that the Lord was calling, she wanted to respond to that call immediately, even asking Pope Leo Xlll for permission to enter the Carmel at the tender age of 15. She was one who was willing to be with Jesus even should she suffer certain types of deprivation which are always part and parcel of a Caramel where you give up your freedom to walk wherever you do freely laying it down. And she was one who prioritized Jesus over her family, prioritized Jesus over her comforts and never stopped looking toward Jesus. The very last words of her life were Jesus I love you.
October is World Mission Month. We pray through St. Thérèse’s intercession for all missionaries all across the globe. But we also pray for a very fruitful World Mission Sunday collection, which is 18 days away through the Little Flower.
Let’s ask to become love in the heart of the church. Let’s ask to respond to Jesus promptly. And let’s ask for the grace to go to the missions one way or the other with our prayer or with our bodies to help others become love in the heart of the church too. God bless you.
At the end of today’s reflection, brothers and sisters, I just want to make a special invitation to you. We’re getting closer to the month of October, which is two things. First, it’s World Mission Month, which we pray for and sacrifice for missionaries, which has its culmination on World Mission Sunday, which this year is October 19th. And secondly, October is the month of the Holy Rosary. And in honor of both of these month-long celebrations, the Pontifical Mission Societies USA are going to be getting together with anybody who wants to join us from all over the country and world to pray the world mission rosary. This was put together by my predecessor, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen when he was director of the Pontifical Mission Societies to pray through our Lady’s intercession the Holy Rosary for missionaries and those they’re serving in each of the continents of the world. Below on this email you’ll be able to click on a box which will allow you to sign up to join us. I hope you will pray the World Mission Rosary with us throughout the month of October.
Gospel
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him,
“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
And to another he said, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”
Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”