Daily Catholic Lectio
Wednesday, 24 Sep ‘25
Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday
Ezra 9:5–9; Luke 9:1–6
He Sent Them Out
Today’s Gospel unfolds in three steps: authority, instruction, and mission.
First, Jesus calls His twelve disciples and shares with them His own authority over demons and diseases. By doing this, He makes them partners in His mission. He then sends them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal. The message is clear: to be called is also to be sent. Calling and sending are two sides of the same coin of discipleship.
Second, Jesus gives them instructions. He tells them to travel lightly—take no money, no spare tunic, no bag. They are to stay wherever they are welcomed and leave when they are rejected. Behind these simple words lies a deeper wisdom: Depend not on possessions but on God who provides. Build real relationships with those who receive you. Learn when to move on, without bitterness, when doors close.
Third, the disciples put everything into practice. They go from village to village, preaching the Good News and healing the sick. Authority was given, exhortation was heard, and now the announcement happens.
From this, we can see two levels of learning in the Gospel.
At the first level, we see how Jesus gives authority, how He exhorts, and how the disciples announce. This is the pattern of every Christian mission.
At the second level, we learn the deeper lesson of minimalist living and focus. Evangelization is not simply about words; it is possible only through a life of witness. A simple, focused lifestyle, free from unnecessary burdens, becomes the clearest sign of the Gospel.
In the first reading, Ezra stands before the people and prays. He recalls how God allowed His people to go into slavery yet did not abandon them completely. He praises God for showing mercy, for giving them new life, and for restoring them to their land and their Temple. Looking back, Ezra recognizes that God’s mercy has sustained them all along.
So too in our lives: when we look back honestly, we realize it is God’s mercy that has carried us through. We may have faced exile, struggles, or failures, but His mercy has never let us be destroyed.
We are disciples called and sent. We are entrusted with authority, instructed to live simply, and asked to proclaim by our witness. Let us never forget that, at the end of the day, it is God’s mercy that sustains our lives and our mission.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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