Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 16, 2025
The Lord said:
“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute’
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
Reflection
The human need for memorialization is, in general, a natural and laudable one. Our Catholic faith demands that we remember our lost loved ones through the liturgy and through prayer. Additionally, we memorialize our loved ones through physical monuments such as headstones or sometimes even entire buildings. Honoring our dead can have a touch of the macabre that, at times, may make us uncomfortable, such as the Church of Bones in the Czech Republic.
In today’s gospel, our Lord tells us that some things should not be remembered. Our ancestors killed the prophets and the apostles, and they memorialized it anyway. Worse still, we continue to do it, Jesus says, to the prophets in our midst.
We might consider that we have made a monument to sin through our own sin. It began with original sin and continues on, spiritually shedding our own blood and even that of Jesus himself. How do we break this cycle, if we’re practically fated to it? Our Lord points to the only memorial that matters—himself.
In today’s gospel, the doctors of the law and the Pharisees, in their jealous guarding of knowledge and their obsession with their ancestors, have become their own stumbling block. They refuse to see that Christ is the knowledge that they both seek and guard, only to fall back into the cycle again and plot his death. Christ takes away our sin and warns us of the memory of our sin. May our memories be short, so that we only live in the present hope of Christ’s resurrection.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you continually call us to love and conversion. In your challenge to the Pharisees, we hear you challenge us to grow in holiness. May we, in heeding your call, always seek to please you in the good we do, rather than pleasing ourselves. Grant us the trust to accept your call to growth, that we may come to know the fullness of life, which you promise to those who love you. We ask this in your most Holy Name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Hedwig was a strong mother and wife, and is honored for the faith that she brought to her husband and the people that they governed.
She was born in Bavaria in 1174 and was aunt to St. Elizabeth of Hungary. As a girl, she was placed in a monastery for her education, and when she was 12, she was given to marriage to a duke named Henry. Together, they had seven children.
When her husband succeeded his father, and gained the governance of his region, Hedwig encouraged him to establish a monastery of Cistercian nuns. Together, they founded more monasteries, which helped develop the faith among their people and also preserved and enhanced their culture. Both Henry and Hedwig founded hospitals, which they took personal interest in.
As their children matured, they gave the couple much trouble. Several bickered bitterly over land rights, even battling one another. Hedwig tried to intervene, but eventually resigned herself and moved to one of the monasteries she had founded. There, she spent her time in the prayer and manual labor of the community, and was known for her austerities that helped her sharpen her will. For example, she would often travel to nearby villages for Mass without wearing shoes, in any kind of weather.
She assisted her husband, urging peace at every opportunity. He fought several major battles, and, at one point, Hedwig had to ransom him when he was captured. When Henry died, she permanently joined one of her convents that was led by her daughter, and gave away all of her possessions to the poor.
Even when she was alive, St. Hedwig was given the gift of miracles, and she healed a nun who was blind by making the sign of the cross upon her. Several other miraculous cures are attributed to her. She died on this date in 1243, and is patron saint of brides. Her relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Hedwig, you are the patron saint of brides who gave away all of your possessions to the poor—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Hedwig is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed October 3, 2024.