Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for September 3, 2025
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
I’m Monsignor Roger Landry, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, here on the ocean in Europe. In today’s gospel for September 3rd, the feast of St. Gregory the Great, one of the greatest popes who ever lived, we have a message in the gospel about how important it is to share our faith. It was a typical day in the life of Jesus. He had finished preaching and healing in the synagogue in the late afternoon. And as soon as sundown happened, he was able to travel again. And he went to St. Peter’s home where first he cured and healed St. Peter’s mother-in-law who was sick. And then all the sick of Capernaum, 3 to 5,000 people in that town were coming to the door bringing him everybody who needed help. And Jesus was healing them one by one. It wasn’t enough for him to do a quick group healing because every healing he was giving was a sign of a deeper one he was trying to bring about through faith. And so he probably finished close to midnight on this exhausting day. But then St. Luke tells us early the next morning, very early, he got up and he went out to pray to the father. It shows not only how important prayer is, but then when the apostles awoke and found him and said, “Everybody’s looking for you because there were many more who needed to be cured.” Jesus said to the other towns I must go to proclaim the faith because this is the reason why I’ve come. Jesus wanted to go to the next places. He didn’t want to just remain established in one place where people could come to him. He wanted everybody to know the gospel. And so onward he went to the towns around Capernaum. This is what inspires missionaries. It’s not enough that one particular country knows Jesus. They want all the nations to come to Jesus. This is what inspires the church.
This what inspired Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Gregory the Great, 1400 years ago. It wasn’t enough that those in Rome were being re-evangelized. He sent his Benedictine monks like St. Augustine of Canterbury all the way to England to share the faith there through St. Gregory the Great’s intercession today.
Therefore, let’s pray for his successor Pope Leo. Let’s pray for all missionaries. Let’s pray for all of us. We’re supposed to be missionaries by our baptism. That we might never rest content on our laurels that our particular parish might be doing fine or our family might be doing fine, but to always look to that next place where we can go with the same love that inspired Jesus in today’s gospel. God bless you.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based was:
Gospel
After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.
At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.
At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.