Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for October 5, 2025
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
The YouTube generated transcript for today’s reflection is:
I am Monsignor Roger Landry National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. He’s coming to you from our chapel in St. Petersburg, Florida. It’s Sunday, October 5th, exactly two weeks from missionary Sunday. And the church is giving us what we need to ramp up for World Mission Sunday. In today’s gospel, the apostles ask Jesus, Lord, increase our faith. And Jesus responds with two important principles. The first is that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can do incredible things. He says we can say to a huge mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea and it would obey us. Do we have faith in the power of faith as Jesus says? Do we trust him that with him all things are possible? Do we really base our whole life on him and his promises? To increase in faith, we need to recognize that sometimes we got to ask for big things and we got to recognize that the little that we already have is enough. The second thing he says is we’ve got to have gratitude. And he tells a somewhat shocking parable. He says, “Imagine that you were a slave and you were working in the field. Would you then come on in after you had worked in the field and sit down and expect your master to serve you and prepare for you dinner and wash your feet and put oil on your head? He said, “Of course not. You would serve your master.” And at the very end, you would say, “We are unprofitable, useless servants. We’ve only done what we were commanded to do.” In other words, we wouldn’t feel entitled at all. We would remain humble throughout. This is super important for the church’s mission. Do we recognize that being given the opportunity to work for the kingdom, to share our faith with others, is an extraordinary privilege that God has trusted us so much that he has entrusted us with his mission. And that after we’ve gone out and labored in the fields, when we come back, we shouldn’t be expecting God to just pat us on the head and ask us if we want mint jewels or genomics. We continue our work. And what is that work that we do? We come to the table and we start to worship him. We do the public work of the church, the lea in Greek. We continue to love the Lord. We don’t feel entitled to some type of reward because we recognize that the privilege, the reward was already in the call and in the work. This is what missionaries do. They’re not doing it to win some ecclesiastical honor from the Holy Father. They’re doing it because they love Christ and they love others enough to bring Christ to them. Today, we recognize that even though we’re all useless servants, that God strictly speaking doesn’t need us. he could have done it all himself. That he loves us enough to incorporate us into his work and he makes us thereby truly useful if we become his instruments to bring him to others and others to him. So let’s commit to do that today. And as we prepare for World Mission Sunday in two weeks, let’s grasp that as Fulton J. Sheen used to say, we either go to the missions or we send to the missions. So if we’re not going to go physically, we try to sacrifice for those who do go physically to fruietify their work. This is what we’re preparing for in this World Mission Month. 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 Missions 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. 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.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based on:
Gospel
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied,
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
“Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?
Would he not rather say to him,
‘Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished’?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, ‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.”