Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for September 7, 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 Society. It’s Sunday, September 7th, and in the Vatican today, we have the canonization of two great young heroes of our faith, St. Pierre Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis. In today’s gospel, we see Jesus describe characteristics of every one of his followers that the two of them lived to an heroic degree. Jesus says, “None of us can be his disciple. None of us can be his follower unless we hate mother, father, children, lands, that we love him more than our life, that we love him more than our possessions, that we are willing to pick up our cross and follow him. When Jesus uses that word hate, it’s a Hebrew idiom that basically means put in second place. It doesn’t mean despise. Jesus calls us to honor father and mother. He calls us to love even our enemies. And therefore he calls us to love our parents through whom he gave us life. But he calls us not to prioritize them. Not to prioritize our possessions. Not to prioritize our health. Not to prioritize anything other than him.
When we look at St. Carlo and St. Pier Giorgio. That’s precisely what they did. They first prioritized Jesus as he is still with us in the Holy Eucharist. Pier Giorgio used to spend all night in adoration and play cards against his friends so that if they lost they’d have to come with him to adoration. St. Carlo set up the Eucharistic miracles of the world exhibit. Spent so much time with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. They showed to put Jesus first. Likewise, they prioritized friendship, bringing others into a communion with them so that perhaps they might be able to come into a deeper communion with the Lord. They likewise prioritize charity, sacrificing of themselves, sacrificing their time, sacrificing their money in order to be able to lift up those who are poorer and in need. They’re extraordinary examples of us for us. Jesus says at the end of the today’s gospel uh that if we were building a tower, we’d make sure we have enough bricks. That if we were going into the war, would make sure we have enough troops. He wants us to be prudent in terms of what we need in order to finish the job.
Carlo and Pierre Giorgio, these two great new saints, show us what we need to finish the job. First, we need God and we need to rely on him. But then second, we need to be all in to our faith. This is what missionaries across the globe do. Both Pierre Giorgio and Carlo were missionaries to their friends. They tried to bring the fruit of the gospel to them and missionaries all across the globe are leaving behind mother and father, their own countries in order to bring the treasure of the faith to others. Today on the feast of their canonization, let’s ask Jesus’ help to imitate their holy example. God bless you.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based was:
Gospel
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”