20251104 FINDING PEACE FOR YOUR SOUL
04 November 2025, Tuesday, 31st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Romans 12:5-16 |
Use the gifts you have been given
All of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other. Our gifts differ according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith suggests; if administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then use it for teaching. Let the preachers deliver sermons, the almsgivers give freely, the officials be diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them cheerfully.
Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.
Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending but make real friends with the poor. Do not allow yourself to become self-satisfied.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 130(131) |
Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
O Lord, my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great
nor marvels beyond me.
Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
Truly I have set my soul
in silence and peace.
A weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul.
Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
both now and forever.
Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ep1:17,18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 14:15-24 |
'Not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet'
One of those gathered round the table said to Jesus, ‘Happy the man who will be at the feast in the kingdom of God!’ But he said to him, ‘There was a man who gave a great banquet, and he invited a large number of people. When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, “Come along: everything is ready now.” But all alike started to make excuses. The first said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.” Yet another said, “I have just got married and so am unable to come.”
‘The servant returned and reported this to his master. Then the householder, in a rage, said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” “Sir” said the servant “your orders have been carried out and there is still room.” Then the master said to his servant, “Go to the open roads and the hedgerows and force people to come in to make sure my house is full; because, I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet.”’
FINDING PEACE FOR YOUR SOUL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 12:5-16; Ps 131:1-3; Lk 14:15-24]
Yesterday, we celebrated All Souls’ Day. We hope that after our prayers, their souls are now at rest in peace. What about your soul? What is the state of your soul today? Is your soul at rest? Is your soul at peace? Are you troubled, anxious, weighed down, disturbed, and restless? Then let our prayer today be with the psalmist: “Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.” We are all searching for peace and rest for our souls. Why is there no peace?
The Scripture readings offer us the reason. We are not at peace because we are not at peace with God, with ourselves, and with our brothers and sisters. This is the crux of our lack of rest in our souls. The Gospel today speaks of happiness in the Kingdom of God. This state of happiness is illustrated in the imagery of a banquet. In this banquet, God invites us all to be in fellowship with Him so that we can also be in fellowship with each other. The Kingdom of God is often portrayed as a banquet because it symbolises communion, joy, love, life, and abundance. In the Kingdom of God, we share the joy of communion with God by being in communion with one another, where everyone is our brother or sister, regardless of whether they are poor, crippled, blind, or lame. For God said, “Go to the open roads and the hedgerows and force people to come in to make sure my house is full.”
In the same vein, St. Paul speaks of the consequences of being made righteous in Christ as living a life of communion with our brothers and sisters. He wrote, “All of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other.” He exhorts us to grow in sincere love for our brothers and sisters and not let our “love be a pretence.” In other words, he warns against superficial and insincere love. Our love for each other must not merely be for show or just being nice and cordial or acting in a way that is politically correct. True love, he said, is this: “Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other.” We must treat each person as if he or she were our own family member — with a love that is unconditional and total.
This love extends especially to the weaker or needier members of our family. He said, “If any of the saints are in need, you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending, but make real friends with the poor.” We must feel with them and identify with them in their struggles: “Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow.” Even with those who hurt us, we must continue to forgive and bless them. This is the authentic sign of community — when brothers and sisters, just like in any family, are willing to forgive each other every time someone fails in love and charity. St. Paul says, “Bless those who persecute you; never curse them, bless them.” This is what being family is all about: knowing that we are loved and forgiven, that we need not be perfect all the time, and that we are accepted even with our mistakes and weaknesses.
Finally, such love must also be persevering, even when problems and frictions arise in family life. As he said, “Do not give up if trials come; keep on praying.” We must continue to hope that the difficult ones will change through our love. St. Paul urges us to be positive: “If you have hope, this will make you cheerful.” Indeed, there are no hopeless situations — only hopeless people. So long as we have Christ, there is always hope. If one has hope, there will always be a solution. But it is prayer that gives us hope. Those who do not pray are those who have given up hope. Prayer means trust in grace.
But peace with God and others also presupposes that we live lives of integrity, being responsible for the state of life we have chosen and faithful in our duties toward our family, our workplace, the Church, and society. Because we are all different parts of the Body of Christ, it is necessary that each of us should not shirk our responsibilities but play the role and function given by God. “Our gifts differ according to the grace given to us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith suggests; if administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then use it for teaching. Let the preachers deliver sermons, the almsgivers give freely, the officials be diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them cheerfully.” Indeed, because we are all one in Christ, to love Christ is to love His Body. To work for the Lord is to work for the community. Hence, “Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit.”
So what prevents us from entering into this peace? We have the wrong focus and wrong priorities in life. We aspire for the wrong things. This is what the parable in today’s Gospel wishes to teach us. We do not put the Kingdom of God first in our lives. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, already taught us, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” To seek the Kingdom of God first means to put God first in our lives, then the community of the Body of Christ, and finally ourselves.
Unfortunately, we are often short-sighted, lacking focus and priorities in life, like those in the parable. Like them, we make all kinds of excuses to be absent from God and our community. We read: “When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come along: everything is ready now.’ But all alike started to make excuses.” What seems justifiable is that these excuses appear valid and reasonable.
The first man was too absorbed in his work. He said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies.” Certainly, we are all busy with work and conscious of time and responsibility. There are so many demands made on us that we have no time for God, our community, or our loved ones. We are always working and working, with no time for fellowship, bonding, or prayer. The truth is, by not giving focus and priority to God, and then to our loved ones and community, we might be successful and efficient but we will not be loved, only used. Eventually, even if we are successful, we will lose touch with God and with our loved ones. While we chase after our careers and fulfil our responsibilities, our loved ones and friends may drift away from us. By the time our work is done, they may have found other friends and a new community. You will be left alone. Your spouse and children will have turned to others.
The second man also had a good excuse — he was focused on his hobbies and personal interests. He said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.” This man was distracted by the novelties of life. This is true for many today — our spouses, children, and friends are often so taken up by their hobbies or new gadgets that they have no time for God or for us. Even in church, some are busy with their phones. At meals, they are always playing games or surfing the internet instead of engaging in conversation. Some are absorbed playing mahjong, golf, or other pursuits, neglecting God and family. Their priorities are misplaced. Instead of putting God at the centre of their lives and cherishing their loved ones, they devote themselves to secondary and inconsequential matters.
Finally, another said, “I have just got married and so am unable to come.” Among all excuses, this one seems most reasonable. He has just married and should be excused from God’s invitation and community involvement. Yet the truth is that without the support of the community, the marriage will fail. No one is an island. No marriage is entirely private. Marriage is personal, but it also has a communal dimension. That is why we marry publicly in the Marriage Registry. Both the state and the Church have oversight of our marriage.
When we take marriage out of God and the community, we destroy what we cherish. This is the warning of Jesus: “I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet.” In other words, they will not be happy because there will be no love or communion among them. Truly, when a man makes his wife his goddess, or a wife makes her husband her god, or parents idolise their children, they lose focus. Without God, we cannot love rightly. We become possessive, and in trying to possess others, we frustrate them. No one wants to be the prisoner of another. If we think our spouse or children can fill the emptiness in our hearts, we will be sadly disappointed — for no one can quench that thirst except God alone.
So, if we want to have peace in our souls, let us follow the psalmist. He gives us two hints: “O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor haughty my eyes. I have not gone after things too great nor marvels beyond me. Truly, I have set my soul in silence and peace. A weaned child on its mother’s breast, even so is my soul.” In other words, let us not seek things that destroy us. Let us sit before the Lord in silence and peace, feeding on His love. Let us “hope in the Lord both now and forever.” Let us be united with the Body of Christ — the community at home, in the office, and in the Church. A sincere love of God and our brothers and sisters will keep our souls in peace and at rest.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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