Readings for Sunday, September 7, 2025
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 129
It-Tlieta u Għoxrin Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading 1 Wisdom 9:13-18b
Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the LORD intends? For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans. For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns. And scarce do we guess the things on earth, and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty; but when things are in heaven, who can search them out? Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.
QARI 1 mill-Ktieb tal-Għerf 9:13-19
Min jista’ jagħraf ħsieb Alla? Min jista’ jifhem xi jrid il-Mulej? Beżżiegħa huma ħsibijiet il-bnedmin, u kull pjan tagħna mhu xejn fiż-żgur; għax ruħna mtaqqla b’ġisem li jitħassar, u għar-ruħ li taħseb hu piż it-tafal li fih tgħammar. Bilkemm nistgħu nintebħu x’hemm fuq l-art, u bit-tbatija nsibu dak li hu taħt għajnejna; mela min jista’ jitkixxef fuq il-ħwejjeġ tas-sema? Min qatt għaraf ir-rieda tiegħek, jekk int innifsek ma tajtux l-għerf, u ma bgħattx fuqu mill-għoli l-ispirtu qaddis tiegħek? Hekk saru dritti triqat in-nies tal-art, hekk tgħallmu l-bnedmin dak li jogħġob lilek, u salvaw bis-saħħa tal-għerf. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
SALM RESPONSORJALI Salm 89(90):3-4,5-6,12-13,14,17
R/.(1): Mulej, int kenn għalina.
Int traġġa’ l-bnedmin lejn it-trab,
u tgħidilhom: “Erġgħu lura, intom bnedmin!”.
Elf sena huma għalik bħall-jum tal-bieraħ li għadda,
jew bħal sahra tal-lejl. R/.
Int taħsadhom, u jsiru bħal ħolma.
Huma bħall-ħaxix li jinbet filgħodu;
filgħodu jwarrad u jħaddar,
filgħaxija jidbiel u jinxef. R/.
Għalhekk għallimna ngħoddu jiem ħajjitna,
sabiex aħna nimxu bil-għaqal.
Dur lejna, Mulej! Kemm se ddum?
Ħenn għall-qaddejja tiegħek. R/.
Imliena kmieni bit-tjieba tiegħek,
biex nifirħu u nithennew ħajjitna kollha.
Ħa tkun fuqna l-grazzja ta’ Alla Sidna!
Wettqilna inti x-xogħol ta’ jdejna,
wettaq, iva, xogħol idejna. R/.
Reading 2 Philemon 9-10, 12-17
I, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus, urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment; I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I should have liked to retain him for myself, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my imprisonment for the gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary. Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord. So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
QARI 2 mill-Ittra ta’ San Pawl lil Filemon 9b-10,12-17
Għażiż, jiena, Pawlu, raġel xwejjaħ, u issa priġunier ta’ Kristu Ġesù, qiegħed nitolbok bil-ħerqa għal ibni, li jiena nissilt fil-ktajjen, għal Oneżimu. Xtaqt kieku żammejtu miegħi, biex, kif jien fil-ħabs għall-Evanġelju, idur bija minflokok hu. Iżda ma ridt nagħmel xejn mingħajr ma nara x’jidhirlek int, biex l-opra tajba tiegħek ma tkunx għamiltha bilfors, imma tkun ħierġa mill-qalb. Għandu mnejn li għalhekk hu telaq minn miegħek għal ftit, biex inti terġa’ tiksbu lura għal dejjem, mhux iktar bħala lsir, imma xi ħaġa iktar minn ilsir, bħala ħuk għażiż; għażiż fuq kollox għalija, imma kemm iktar għalik, skont id-dinja u skont il-Mulej. Int mela, jekk inti qalb waħda miegħi, ilqgħu bħallikieku kont jien! Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Gospel Luke 14:25-33]
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.”
EVANĠELJU Qari skont San Luqa 14:25-33
F’dak iż-żmien, kotra kbira ta’ nies kienet miexja ma’ Ġesù. Hu dar lejhom u qalilhom: “Min jiġi għandi ma jistax ikun dixxiplu tiegħi jekk ma jobgħodx lil missieru u ’l ommu u lil martu u lil uliedu, ’il ħutu subien u bniet, u saħansitra lilu nnifsu. Min ma jerfax salibu u jimxi warajja ma jistax ikun dixxiplu tiegħi. Għax min minnkom ikun irid jibni torri u ma joqgħodx bilqiegħda biex l-ewwel nett iqis in-nefqa, ħalli jara għandux biżżejjed biex iwassal sal-aħħar? Għax jekk jiġrilu li jqiegħed is-sisien biex imbagħad ma jkunx jista’ jtemm il-bini, kull min jarah jibda jwaqqgħu għaċ-ċajt u jgħid: ‘Dan il-bniedem beda jibni u ma kellux il-ħila jkompli sal-aħħar’. Jew liema sultan, li jkun sejjer jagħmel gwerra kontra sultan ieħor, ma joqgħodx l-ewwel bilqiegħda biex jara jekk jistax b’għaxart elef raġel iħabbatha ma’ min ġej għalih b’għoxrin elf ruħ? Għax inkella, meta l-ieħor ikun għadu ’l bogħod, ikollu jibgħatlu ambaxxata biex jitolbu l-ftehim għall-paċi. Hekk ukoll ħadd ma jista’ jkun dixxiplu tiegħi jekk ma jitlaqx ġidu kollu”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
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LIVING OUT OUR BAPTISMAL COMMITMENT
An 8-minute Reflection on Sunday's Readings by Fr Anthony Kadavil
Central theme:
Next Sunday's readings challenge us to live out our Baptismal commitment to the true Christian discipleship of total commitment to the will of God, putting God first in our lives.
Scripture lessons summarized:
The first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, instructs us to ask for the gifts of discernment and strength from the Holy Spirit so that we may do the will of God as His true disciples. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 90), instructs true disciples to lead holy lives by remaining constantly aware of the brevity and uncertainty of life. The second reading, taken from St. Paul’s letter to Philemon, teaches us that detachment and renunciation are necessary for a true disciple of Christ. As a responsible Apostle and zealous disciple of Christ, Paul had to renounce the service of his new helper, Onesimus, and return him to his master. As a new disciple of Christ, Onesimus had to leave Paul, face his owner as a runaway slave, and accept the consequences.
Today’s Gospel reminds us to count the cost of being a disciple and follower of Christ because the cost is high: true Christian discipleship requires one to "renounce" both earthly possessions and possessions of the heart (i.e., one's relationships). In today’s Gospel, Jesus lays out four conditions for true Christian discipleship.
>> 1) Renounce too much attachment to family, giving priority to God and His commandments.
>> 2) Break off the excessive attachment to possessions by leading a detached life, willingly sharing one’s blessings with others.
>> 3) Be ready to carry the cross and follow Jesus by
a) gracefully accepting and lovingly offering our pains and suffering with Jesus on the cross for the salvation of all of us
b) sharing our blessings sacrificially with others
c) accepting the pain involved in controlling our evil habits and tendencies and
d) by welcoming as God’ gift to us of the pain and humiliation we suffer in professing our faith in public and in practicing it in daily life, standing with Jesus, his ideas and ideals.
>> 4) Calculate the cost involved in following Jesus. Using the two parables of the tower-builder and the king defending his country, Jesus says we must think long and hard about Christian discipleship before we commit ourselves to Jesus in this full, life-long surrender of body and soul to Him Who loves us,
Life messages:
We need to accept the challenge of Christian discipleship with heroic commitment and practice it. We do so:
1) by daily recharging our spiritual batteries through prayer, i.e., by talking to God, and by listening to Him through our meditative reading and study of the Bible;
2) by sharing in God’s life through frequent and active participation in the Eucharistic celebration, and grateful use of the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we have sinned and turned away from Him
3) by practicing the spirit of detachment and the renunciation of evil habits;
4) by the generous giving our time, talents and resources for the Lord’s work in the Church universal, and especially in our parish community, relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
5) by loving all God’s children, especially the less fortunate ones, through humble, selfless acts of kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and service;
6) by showing true commitment to the obligations and duties entrusted to us by our vocation in life and our profession, for example, by fidelity in marriage and firm adherence to justice in our living and profession.
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