Daily Catholic Lectio
Mon, 3 Nov ‘25
Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time, Monday
Romans 11:29–36. Luke 14:12–14
Repaying to the Lord
The message of today’s readings: ‘we can never truly repay the Lord’.
1. The measure of repayment (Luke 14:12–14)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks not to the guests but to the one who invited them. He challenges the practice of giving banquets for social advantage — inviting those who can repay with another invitation, another gift, another honour. Even today, our “banquets” often carry this spirit: we invite, give, or help with the silent hope of being repaid — through gratitude, attention, or favour.
But Jesus reverses this logic: “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; then you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” His words are not only about generosity but about imitation — to love as God loves, to give as God gives.
In Jesus’ time, the poor, the sick, and the disabled were considered cursed, unworthy of honour. Yet Jesus proclaims that God Himself will stand on their behalf. He lifts their dignity and, through them, teaches us that true generosity expects nothing in return. When we love without calculating repayment, we move from the level of human goodness to the level of divine mercy.
2. The unrepayable gift (Romans 11:29–36)
In the first reading, Paul reminds us that “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” God’s mercy does not withdraw. He gives freely, without recalling His gifts, even when humanity fails. Paul bursts into a hymn of praise: “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! … For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.”
Our entire life is grace — every breath, every heartbeat, every friend, every moment of forgiveness. Can we repay such mercy? Never. To even think of “repaying” God is to count what cannot be counted. Like the boy before his mother, we can only fall silent in gratitude.
And that is what prayer for the departed really is — an act of thanksgiving. When we pray for our loved ones who have gone before us, we are saying to God, “Thank You for giving them to us.” When we offer Masses, rosaries, or good works in their memory, we are not settling a debt but continuing a relationship of love that death cannot sever.
3. Living as God’s hands of repayment
In God’s economy, repayment is transformed. Since we cannot repay Him directly, He asks us to pass it forward — to love the poor, comfort the grieving, forgive the offender, and care for the broken. “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to Me.” That is how we “repay” God — not with gold or gifts, but with compassion.
The world teaches us to give and take. The Gospel teaches us to give and ‘trust.’ When we give without expecting, we share in the very generosity of God. When we feed those who cannot repay, we touch heaven.
So today, as we remember the departed souls, let us also remember what we owe — not in coins or gifts, but in love and mercy. Our parents, teachers, and friends who shaped us cannot be repaid; our only way is to live gratefully and give freely.
Every act of love becomes a quiet “thank you” to God. Every prayer for the departed becomes a repayment of gratitude.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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