Monsignor Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for October 6, 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. It’s October 6th. I’m coming to you from our chapel in St. Petersburg, Florida. We’re 13 days from World Mission Sunday. We see with the Pentecost scene behind us how the Holy Spirit wants to get us ready for World Mission Sunday so that we can truly recommit ourselves to continuing Jesus’ mission that he gave us before the ascension. In the gospel today, the church almost has curated the perfect passage for us. a young lawyer of the law, a scribe comes up to Jesus and says, “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life? What’s the most important thing I have to do on earth?” And Jesus says, “You’re a scribe. How do you read the law?” And the guy hits two home runs. Says, “The most important thing of all is to love God with all one’s mind, heart, and soul.” And then the second is to love one’s neighbor as ourselves. And Jesus looked at the man and said, “Do this and you will live.” It’s not enough to know it, but concretely we have to love God and we have to love others. We have to sacrifice for God and sacrifice for others. And then when the rich young when this young man says, “Who was my neighbor?” Jesus wants him to grasp that the whole world is his neighborhood. He tells the most famous short story of all time, the parable of the good Samaritan.
It’s important for us who know the details here to grasp that Jesus is that good Samaritan. When this man left Jerusalem and all the city of God symbolizes, and was going downhill to the lowest place on earth, Jericho, he was ambushed and left for dead. He was dying. That was the state of the human race that had lost the state of grace in the Garden of Eden and had been going down into the pit. A priest and a Levite were passing by that ambushed man, going up to the temple, we presume. And when they heard him calling out for help, they passed by the other side. They didn’t care. They didn’t act. They didn’t want to become ritually impure. Loving their neighbor wasn’t really urgent for them. But then Jesus says, “A Samaritan came down past and when he heard the man groaning, he drew near. He cared for him. He bathed his wounds. He put him on his animal. He brought him to the inn to care for him. gave him money and said, “If you pay anything more, I will repay you on your way back.” He was going to hold them accountable. He was going to be checking in. That in is the church. We are the ambush person. Jesus is the good Samaritan. And at the very end of it, he asks the same lawyer who proved neighbor to the robbers’s victim. And the lawyer said, “The one who treated him with compassion.” And he said, “Go and do the same.”
This is what the church does in bringing the gospel to all those who without Jesus don’t have the principle of life. They crisscross the globe leaving some of our sanctuaries going out into jungles and deserts in order to bring Christ. How awesome missionaries are and how summoned each of us is to draw near one way or the other to all those who are in similar circumstances of need of Christ. In this world mission month, we pray for all missionaries, but we also remember that by our baptism, we’re called to be missionaries. In 13 days from World Mission Sunday, let’s be ready, like the good Samaritan, even to sacrifice our money for the good of others. 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. 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.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based on
Gospel
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”