Daily Reflection for the Pontifical Mission Societies, October 15, 2025

Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for October 15, 2025

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 Manhattan chapel. It’s October 15th, the feast of the great St. Teresa of Avila, the founder of the  Discalced  Carmelites. We’ll return to her in a second. Today’s gospel, Jesus continuing his call to conversion to the scribes and the Pharisees. When Jesus uses very strong words, he’s not trying to demonize them. He’s not trying to condemn them. He’s trying in those strong words to summon them to conversion. Some would have converted. Some would have responded with hardened hearts. But we’ve got much to learn from them as we get closer to World Mission Sunday in just four days. Jesus says first about them that they’re paying tithes on the smallest of the garden herbs, but they’re neglecting the weightier things of the law, specifically justice and mercy. Sometimes we can be obsessed about things that don’t matter very much and miss the biggest picture of all. What is that biggest picture? Think about it. Then he says that they like seats of honor in synagogues and in public places. They’re doing it for themselves. They want people to notice them. Most important thing we know, the weightier thing is to have people notice God, for us to be sign points reflecting his light. And then the third thing Jesus criticizes is that they put burdens on others without lifting one solid finger in order to lift those burdens. Not only does he not want us necessarily burdening others, but he wants us using all 10 fingers, all both hands in order to be able to help people with their burdens. This is something St. Teresa of Avila did in her life. She was one who always focused on the most important stuff which is God himself. That’s why she made so much time for prayer. That’s why she built up the Carmelites so that more people could know the Lord. She was trying to bring her Carmelites to conversion because a lot of them were living a very lax life even in the convent like she did for the first 20 years when she was a nun. Second thing that St. Teresa always did is she always sought to bring people to Jesus. Her whole name is Teresa of Jesus. She wanted him to be loved and praised, not her. and she was constantly trying to lift up the burdens not just of her sisters but the whole world. And as we draw closer to World Mission Sunday, isn’t that just what missionaries do? That we’re trying to get people all over the world to say God’s most important, God’s number one. God loves you. He’s in the middle of the world. Come to him. We’re the ones who really want not our will to be done, our kingdom to come, and our name to be hallowed, but his his and his. and likewise sends us out to meet people with all their burdens and announce to them Jesus who said, “Come to me all you who labor and find life burdensome and I will refresh you.” That’s our great mission. Four days from World Mission Sunday. Let’s get even more focused on it. Let’s up our prayer for all missionaries and let’s prepare on Sunday to give a big sacrifice so that the whole church will be able to lift up all those who are burdened. God bless you.