Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 27, 2025
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.
In this passage, we bear witness to Jesus healing on the Sabbath, and the recipient of that healing touch is a woman crippled by a spirit. I invite us to put ourselves in her place.
Imagine the pain she bears, weighed down by this physical burden for 18 years. What is our burden just now, that thing that we believe is crippling us? Maybe the spirit of the world—that despair over these challenging times we live in, times when it can be difficult to see God’s hand at work. Maybe the loving and long-suffering sacrifices we make as we care for a loved one. Maybe it is physical or emotional abuse in our past or even present circumstances. Maybe it is anxiety in our workplace, a broken relationship, financial strain, or fear of what might happen in our future. Maybe it is, in fact, our own physical illness or injury.
Whatever it is, we can feel the weight that this woman felt. But Jesus noticed her. He notices each of us. And while he may not relieve our physical burdens, he is with us. He fills us with the peace that passes all understanding, and all we must still do is pray, as this woman did in the synagogue over 2000 years ago.
Now, I invite us to consider those around us who are carrying heavy burdens, are broken, are bent over, and are struggling. How can we be Jesus to them? How can we reach out and touch them? We may not be able to heal them or completely remove their burden, but how can we help them feel seen and loved? Let us reach out and be Jesus to someone. Let us cry out to Jesus.
May we each feel his healing, strengthening, calming touch.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we come before you, stooped and burdened with troubles, worries, and fears. We look to you for healing, for assistance, or at the very least for the hope that healing and help will come. Let nothing in our hearts stand in your way. Amen.
Saint of the Day
When St. Frumentius visited the famous St. Athanasius to ask him to send priests and bishops to Ethiopia, Athanasius told him to go himself, and ordained him on the spot.
Frumentius was born in Tyre (what is now Lebanon) and was sent with a friend to live with a philosopher to receive an education. Around the year 330, their teacher decided to travel the known world, and he took the two boys with him.
When their ship wrecked near modern-day Ethiopia, the native people attacked the travelers—all but the two boys were killed, including their teacher. The boys were captured and taken to the king of the region.
The king was impressed with their learning and commanded them to serve his court. The two served the royal family for years, and when the king died they were granted their freedom. The queen asked them to remain to assist in the management of the kingdom until her sons were old enough to reign, and they both decided to stay.
When her sons came of age, Frumentius and his friend were faced with a decision to leave. His friend returned to Tyre, but Frumentius felt called to spread the faith through Ethiopia. He went to the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, a center of power and learning in the Church, and asked the great St. Athanasius to send pastors. Athanasius immediately recognized that no one would be better suited to the job than Frumentius—he ordained the missionary and sent him instead.
Frumentius went back to Ethiopia and brought many to the faith by his preaching and miracles. Ten years after his return, Christianity was named the official state religion of the kingdom. Even the royal household was baptized—they are still honored as saints in the Ethiopian Church. Frumentius was known as “our father” and “father of peace.”
St. Matthew is said to have first evangelized Ethiopia, but Frumentius is known as the apostle to that nation because of his effectiveness in converting people to the faith. It is said that the early diocese of Louisiana observed the feast of St. Frumentius in the 1700s, possibly as an acknowledgment of the Africans enslaved there.
St. Frumentius, who survived shipwreck and evangelized a nation, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Frumentius is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed October 4, 2024.